I'll Protect You Now
by APRIL BROWN
Summary: Damon meets Elena tied up in a dirty basement after he gets taken prisoner by Elijah and Kol. They must fight through their differences to break out and find their families. Along the way they begin to learn that they may be the key to each others freedom, and have been all along. *Complete Story*
1. Chapter 1

He pulled on the ropes burning his wrists. He pulled as hard as he could but they wouldn't give. "Don't bother." Damon heard a voice whisper. He looked up and focused his eyes across the room. He hadn't seen her there before but there was a thin girl tied up by the wrists just like him. "I've already tried, I think they are spelled." She sounded defeated and she looked weak.

Her dark hair hung around her face providing a curtain Damon couldn't see through.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"Doesn't much matter anymore, does it?" Damon had to keep himself from rolling his eyes. Only thing worse than unfailing optimism, is pity parties. "Fine, have it your way." Damon said dryly. Then he groaned as the ropes stung his wrists. The ropes must have been soaked in vervain.

"You're one of them, aren't you?" the girl all but spat at him. Damon tried to read the girl but she didn't look up. "One of what?" he wondered. "One of the monsters that trapped me down here. The ropes burn them too." Damon could hear the bite of defiance in her tone when she spoke about the monsters being burned. Like the thought brought her pure joy.

"Vampires." Damon mumbled more to himself than in response to her.

"Mhm." It was a quiet confirmation.

"Why are you down here?" Damon interrogated.

"I'm more or a less a food source now." She admitted.

"Now?" Damon inquired. Then the girl finally raised her head. Her long dark hair fell back and revealed an oval face. She had a delicate nose and big doe eyes as dark as the room they were in. His vampire eyes allowed him to see how pale she was and the deep circles under her eyes. She looked ill. "They used to use me for _other things_ " her voice cracked. Damon could hear the emotion in her voice. He could also hear her heart racing inside her chest, but her eyes never faltered, even though he knew she couldn't see him. "What are you doing down here? You're one of them, what use could they have with you?" Hatred dripped off every word she spoke like a rabid dog frothing at the mouth.

"Just because I'm a vampire, doesn't mean i'm one of them." His hatred matched hers. Truth was he had no idea what he was doing here. One minute he had been at a bar with his brother, then a fight broke out. In the craziness he had lost sight of Stefan and then he was being injected with vervain. Next thing he knows he's waking up here. In a small, basement like room, tied up with vervain ropes with a human girl. Her head dropped and her chin touched her chest again. Damon wondered idly if it was hard for her to hold it up. He noticed she looked very feeble. "I'm Damon." He said. When she stayed silent he continued. "I don't know how I got here, I don't even know where 'here' is." She looked up curiously then at the doubt in his voice. "I think we are in New Orleans. That's the last place I remember being." She offered slowly like she was trying to recall something. Encouraged by her interaction he continued. "Last I remember I was in a bar in Virginia with my little brother. Someone drugged me and I woke up here."

"Brother? Like blood brother?" Damon nodded before he remembered she couldn't see him. "Yeah. A couple years younger than me. We were turned at the same time." She nodded too, knowing he could see her. "I have a little brother too." She added in a voice thick with sadness. "I haven't seen him in years though. I guess realistically he could be dead." She tried to flatten out her voice but the emotion was still breaking through.

"How long have you been here?" Damon pressed.

"I've lost track really. A while now." Damon just stared silently at the girl. She looked to be in her early 20's , she was young. Very young, and weak too. Damon could see now that it was taking a great deal of effort on her part to hold her head up. Poor girl, Damon thought. Who knew what's been done to her. After a long silence she whispered "I'm Elena." Damon watched the girl as her eyes grew wet with unshed tears. "I'm sorry you lost track of your brother." She added in a wobbly voice. Damon was touched. After all this girl had been through, was she really moved to tears about his separation from Stefan? Damon shook his head. "I'm sorry you have lost everything Elena." She peered around the room trying to pick a place where she thought his voice was coming from. Her eyes were still swimming in tears. She was tragically beautiful, like a butterfly caught in a spider's web.

Just then there was a loud sound like metal snapping and then a beam of light shot through the small dark room. Damon's eyes had to readjust to the brightness, but when they did he saw two men, not much bigger than himself walk in. They both had dark hair and eyes but one was obviously older by the mature slenderness to his face, and square cut of his chin. They smiled Fang toothed smiles at Elena before untying her ropes and each one taking a tiny wrist in their hands. She didn't scream, she didn't even whimper as they bore down on her with their fang out and taunting. She looked towards Damon, seeing him for the first time, and the look in her eyes was the only indication that she was afraid. His blue eyes must have matched hers because she tried to smile weakly at him. "I'm sorry Damon." She said clearly. Damon was confused for only a second. As they bit deeply into her wrists Elena finally screamed and Damon knew instantly why she apologized. The smell of her blood was mouth watering. He was weakened from all the vervain he's been in contact with and his system was craving the blood. He fet his own fangs slide out of their sheaths, and his eyes darken with desire. His throat burned with the intense thirst. They weren't only feeding off of her, but torturing him as well. He struggled against the ropes and the vervain bit into his wrists. He tried to concentrate on the pain instead of the sweet smell of Elena's blood. She was only whimpering now. He pulled on the ropes again so they would cut father into his skin and eventually the pain worked. His eyes lightened back up to their ocean blue color and his fangs disappeared. He watched helplessly as they drained Elena almost completely dry. When it became obvious to the other vampires that Damon wasn't going to react they stopped. By this time Damon could barely hear Elena's heart beating.

"Give her some of your blood Kohl." The older one muttered in a perfect english accent. The younger one, Kohl, bit into his wrist and shoved it hard against Elena's mouth. Damon released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding when her heart rate returned to normal.

"Tie her back up. We start with him tomorrow." The older one said. Kohl did as instructed and then they left with the same sound they had entered with. The room was drowned in darkness again. He took a minute to let his eyes readjust and then he found Elena. She was hanging by her wrist, completely limp. She was paler now, but her heart was strong. Kohl's blood was doing the trick. Poor girl Damon thought. "Elena? Elena are you okay?" For a second Damon thought she was unconscious but then she nodded slightly. "They don't usually" she stopped to take a deep breath. "They don't usually do that in here. I figured it was to bother you." Damon shook his head at the stupid human, Even in her state she was still worried about him. It was ridiculous. "Elena, I'm fine. It didn't bother me." He lied smoothly. Her lips turned up slightly in a ghost of a smile. She managed a small choked laugh. "For a vampire, you're a terrible liar."

"Uh!" Damon exclaimed. " I resent that. I am not only a fantastic liar, but I also happen to be telling the truth. And on top of that, I specialize in self control." He smirked into the dark. Elena just shook her head, too tired to laugh, but a smile still touched her dry lips. "I'm sorry Elena." And Damon surprised himself by meaning it.


	2. Chapter 2

Damon tried not to but he screamed as Kohl and the older vampire Kohl calls Elijah pierced is abdomen with more wooden stakes. There were already stakes in his biceps, and his thighs. They had also been cutting him open and letting him bleed out for about an hour now. The wood sticking in his abdomen punctured one of his lungs and breathing became very painful. "What are you doing this for?" Damon asked, not for the first time.

"It's only fair mate." Kohl chuckled as he pulled the stake out and shoved it in the other side of his abdomen. He yelled in pain again. Distantly he was aware of Elena crying.

"Now Kohl, enough games." Elijah said, sounding bored. "We are doing this for our sister. Because you're brother killed her."

"What?!" Damon exclaimed, Stefan wouldn't do that to anyone, Not even the devil's sister. Kohl laughed evilly. He was enjoying Damon's pain too much. "So now we are getting even mate. Our sibling, for his." Kohl stabbed him again to emphasize his point. Damon was starting to see black around his vision.

"Elijah!" It was Elena's voice. "Elijah. Stop. You're killing him." Elijah laughed humorlessly. "That's the point, dear Elena." He snarled.

"But don't you want him to suffer?" Elena argued. Elijah made a face like he was going to blow the idea off so Elena quickly continued. "Don't you think Rebecca would want him to suffer?" Kohl stopped mid lunge towards Damon's heart. He peered at Elijah with an unreadable expression "The girl is right brother. Bex would want this drawn out." Elijah contemplated for a while, all the while never taking his eyes off Elena. Then an evil smile crept across his wicked face and he approached Elena. Damon tried to holler a protest but he was barely conscious. Elena jutted her chin out defiantly as he caressed her cheek almost tenderly. Damon knew what was coming next. He tried to lash out Elijah but he was too weak. "I knew there was a reason we kept you alive all this time." Elijah whispered to Elena before suddenly lunging and tearing into her neck like a lion ripping through the hide of a antelope.

The smell of Elena's sweet blood filled the room that now felt ten times smaller to Damon. Kohl flashed to Elena's other side, unable to resist and bit into her just as ferociously. Elena stayed perfectly still and quiet, keeping her slender chin shot out. In the state Damon was in the smell of her blood burned down his throat. His body screamed for the delicious liquid that would heal his wounds and re energize his body. He knew his face was morphed and he couldn't stop it. The light pouring in from the open door had to give her a spotlight view of him at his worst. Elena, though, kept her eyes steady on him. Brown poured into blue with so much peace and utter stillness that it almost calmed the hunger raging inside of him, almost. She stared at him until her heart beat all but stopped. Then with a promise to return the next day, Kohl fed Elena his blood, and they both left, leaving them alone in the dark once again.

"Elena?" Damon managed to force enough air out of his broken lungs to call to her. When he heard no reply he panicked. "Elena!" he tried again.

"Hmm?" She sounded very far away. Damon tried to pull himself together. He managed to focus in on her form, she looked feeble but she was supporting her own weight. She was looking him over too. "Why...did you...do that?" Damon thought one of the stakes must have punctured a lung, Breathing and talking were proving very difficult to him. "They were going to kill you." She said simply.

"So?" He said tiredly. He meant it to be patronizing but it came out more pleading. He sounded weak. Damon felt weak.

"So" She said sounding closer now than before "I distracted them and saved your life, at least for today. You're welcome vampire." She all but spat the words out at him. This angered Damon a bit. " Do..not...climb up on...some high horse...thinking you...did me a favor." He coughed and yelled in frustration. "I didn't ask to be saved,,,if you saved...me...it was for you." He mustered up all his energy to glare at her. He expected her to huff and puff, show her brilliant defiance. Instead she smiled softly and shook her head, casting her glance away from him. "Okay okay, don't go getting yourself all worked up." She sounded patronizing. She was patronizing him. Damon wished he could do more than roll his eyes.

After a bit of silence passed Damon looked over at Elena. She appeared to be sleeping. "Thank you..Elena...but...my life..is not...worth yours." He whispered. Her eyes snapped to his and there was a tenderness in them, he just had to look past the attitude to see it. "It's my life Damon, I'll decide what's worth it." She didn't exactly sound angry, but she didn't sound friendly either.

"For what...it's worth..I'm glad you're okay."

"Wish I could say the same about you. You sound awful." Elena said, trying to be emotionless and failing. Damon shrugged into the darkness. His injuries were painful, but they wouldn't kill him. His lung will eventually heal and the rest is just minor stuff. "Does it hurt." She asked quietly. "Yeah." Damon said simply. She made a surprised noise. "What?" He wondered aloud. "I didn't know vampires felt..anything really." Damon surprised himself by laughing. It was strangled and broken but it was a genuine laugh. After what she did for him today he would never believe she hates him, no matter how many jabs at vampires she took. She cared about him.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day's round wasn't much better, but at least they didn't puncture either of Damon's lungs. His previous injury had healed over night as he slept. So by the time they had finished torturing him, and feeding off Elena, also further torturing him, he could at least still talk fine. Damon was tired though. His body was hungry, it yearned for blood the way one's stomach would plead for food, On top of the physical injuries, the hunger pains were enough to double him over. He stayed quiet about most of it though. Elena refused to scream or even whimper as Elijah and Kohl have their way with her, so the least Damon could do was not whine.

"You okay?" She asked a while after they'd been left.

"Mhm" Damon replied, really just wanting to sleep. The pain was making it hard though.

"What hurts?" She asked quietly. She was worried about him. That felt kind of nice.

"Everything. Will you distract me?" He wondered. Perhaps if he just had something else to think about he could fall asleep. "How?" She inquired. Damon though briefly. "Tell me about your brother." He said. Elena swallowed audibly but nodded her head anyway. "Okay. Hmm my brother." She trailed off, trying to put coherent thoughts together about her long lost brother. "Jeremy. His name is Jeremy. He should be 18 now I guess." Damon smiled to himself. "Fun age." He noted. "That's how old Stefan was when we were turned." Elena smiled but otherwise said nothing about his comment. "Jeremy was actually a lot of trouble through his teenage years. He hung around all the wrong people, didn't keep his grades up, dabbled in drugs." She laughed quietly to herself. "I actually spent quite a lot of time in a men's restroom my junior year trying to talk some sense into him." Damon laughed quietly also, picturing a healthy Elena, chasing a troubled teenage boy into the restroom to deliver the mother of all lectures. Seemed fitting Damon thought. She sobered up then. "Yeah he had a tough go of it after our parents died." Damon's head snapped up. "You lost your parents?"

"Mhm" was her quiet reply. "When I was 17. Jeremy was 14. Car accident, killed them both instantly."

"I'm sorry." Damon said with a voice thick with emotion. "I lost my mom when I was 17 too." Elena stared off into the empty darkness with unshed tears in her eyes. "It was difficult for me. But jeremy struggled more. I think he lost his sense of self, or purpose when our parents died. Like maybe he thought there was no one left to lead him out of the mess of our lives." Elena's teary eyes turned thoughtful. "I wonder what he thinks now." She said more to herself than to Damon. Damon just watched her silently as she turned the idea over in her head, then shuddered. "He was finally getting better though before.." She trailed off.

"How did you end up here Elena?" Damon wondered aloud. She was reluctant to give up the answer, but he needed to know. But she didn't answer now either, she merely leaned against the concrete wall and stared in the direction of his voice. Her face was blank and shut. He wasn't going to find out tonight. Sleep began to tug at his vision and he happily gave himself over to it. He fell fast, dreaming of a 17 year old Elena, whose life after losing her parents, must have been much better than this.

The torture went on for a week or so. Each day getting worse, and harder to withstand than the last. Damon grew weaker and weaker. He also got worse and worse at ignoring the temptation of Elena's blood. Kol and Elijah always made sure to feed after they were done with Damon. He would snarl, and growl when he didn't mean to. He even jerked towards her violently once, much to the satisfaction of their captors. He could see the disgust grow in her with each passing day. She used to keep her eyes steady on him, like that first day, and now she clenches her eyes shut, like she hopes she will wake up and all of this, including Damon, would just be a dream. They talked seldomly now. Either because she was afraid of him now or because they were both so weak and tired by the end of it that they both just slept most of the time. Damon wasn't quite sure, it could be either at this point.

For some reason unknown to him, Damon was upset that this girl was obviously growing to dislike him. He shouldn't really care in the grand scheme of things, and he could sorta convince himself it was because she was the only other person with him, but he couldn't help but wonder if it were something more than that. Kol and Elijah even seemed to take notice in his growing concern for Elena.

"Brother, I think this one has a bit of a thing for our Elena? What do you think?" Damon's eyes searched Elena's for a reaction to their words. She curled her lip ever so slightly, she was disgusted at the thought. Yeah, she definitely didn't like him anymore. Elijah laughed though. "Why brother I think you're right. Look at the way he watches her, even now. Though she clearly is not taken with our friend, are you darling?" Elijah cooed at Elena, who got an even greater disgust response. Kol's face cracked into a huge smile then as he looked Damon up and Down. "I just had a perfectly marvelous idea." Kol all but jumped for joy. Elijah peered at his brother patiently. "You suspect Damon is absolutely starved by now?" Kol inquired. Elijah picked up on the scheme quickly and soon he was smiling like an idiot too. "Ahhh Kol, you are a genius. Untie him." Elijah barked as he walked over to Elena. Elena glared at him silently like she usually did. Damon was confused as Kol went to work on the ropes that bound him. He winced in pain every few seconds as the vervain burned him where he touched it. Then Elijah tore into Elena's neck and the smell once again filled the room. As his ropes came undone his weakened body fell to the floor. He felt his face transform instantly, and his fangs unsheath themselves as the warm, mouthwatering scent explored their cell. "Cmon Damon. Feed." Kol whispered in his ear. Damon hissed as he tried to hold himself back. He couldn't, wouldn't give this girl a tangible reason to group him in as "one of them." So he fought. He lunged for Kol who just plunged yet another stake into his chest. Damon cried out in pain as he fell back to the floor. He heard some rustling, and then Elijah was standing above him, a bleeding Elena in tow. He must have untied her too. "Drink boy. If you want to live. I dont think you'll survive the night without it. Your body is too weak, and just about drained of all blood. Drink or die." Elena stayed silent, with her eyes clenched shut. Elijah had her by the hair with her exposed, bloody neck pointed out towards Damon. He could see the blood trickling out of her wounds. It was deep red, and it dripped like the last drop of water in the Sahara. Damon couldn't help himself, he snarled as his mouth watered at the prospect of having just one taste. He needed it, he was dying. Damon knew Elijah spoke the truth. His body couldn't handle another night like this, he was a vampire not invincible. She shot him a glare, daring him to try and Damon lost all will power to fight it.

With a more deliberate move than he thought he was capable of he untangle Elijah's hands from her hair, replacing it for his own. Only instead of ripping her hair through his fingers, he held that back of her head like she was a delicate infant. Kol and Elijah rejoiced as the pain of the inevitable flashed through both of their eyes, and then Damon was drinking. Damon was drinking Elena's blood and for the first time in a week she was whimpering.


	4. Chapter 4

Okay as some of you may notice, especially this chapter, veers off a little from the show. Some things with the original family are not the same, like their ability to walk in sunlight. I wrote it this way to make it easier for me to develop Elena and Damon's story. So keep in mind that it wont follow the show exactly!

As always I love feedback! Thank you for reading (:

He let go too soon. He hadn't had enough, he wouldn't heal all the way, but as soon as the hunger was curbed enough for him to think straight he darted away from her. His weak body slammed into the concrete behind him in his attempt to put as much space between the poor girl and himself. _What have I done?_

Horror spread across his face as tears of betrayal streamed down her cheeks. Her eyes were shut as she cried silently, waiting for the bad dream to end. Suddenly Damon felt as if he were also in a bad dream, only he was the monster, he deserved the looks she had given him. He deserved to be called "One of them." Damon slid down the wall until his knees touched his chest and he cradled his face in his hands. The other vampires were cackling like hyenas. They enjoyed the emotional reaction as much as the physical one. Damon was disgusted.

Elijah grabbed Elena's hair roughly once more and drug her back to her wall where he swiftly tied her back up. Elena avoided looking anywhere near Damon as Kol did the same to him. He didn't blame her. Then the two left, laughing all the way. Leaving Damon with the worst kind of torture he had endured yet. The silent hatred, rolling off of the human girl in waves.

"El-"

"Don't." she snapped. She closed her eyes and more tears trickled out.

"Elena..I'm so sorry." He hung his head in shame. Outside of this horrible, awful cell Damon was a lot of things. One thing he never was though, was a monster. Not like he was tonight, not like he was to Elena. She didn't reply, and he didn't push her. They were in for a long week.

The next day brought a surprise for Damon and Elena. Neither Kol nor Elijah showed up once. And had it been two days ago Elena and Damon might have rejoiced this fact, spent the whole day talking, healing, enjoying the pain free day. But it wasn't two days ago and the only thing they shared was silence. Awkward, hate filled silence. When it became clear they weren't going to be paid a visit again Damon tried once more with Elena. "Elena, please." He whispered. She gazed back at him with an empty expression. Damon knew she couldn't see him but it still felt deliberate, like if she could see him, she would be looking through him. "I was dying. I tried so hard. I tried not to." She scoffed but otherwise ignored him. "Elena. I'm trying here."

"Well stop trying." She spat. Damon literally watched as anger bubbled up inside her and then seeped out of the edges. "For a second, a _second_ I thought you might be different. I thought I might be able to trust you. But when it comes down to it, you're just one of them. No matter who you are you will always be a vampire. A predatory, uncaring, using vampire." Damon flinched at her words. How could she not see just how untrue her statement was, how obviously he did care about what he had done to her?

"Is all that blood loss going to you're head or are you always that ignorant?" Damon snapped back.

"Oh I see you for what you really are so now I'm ignorant? Spoken just like a monster." She argued.

"No, you bratty little child, you are ignorant because you see me as what I am despite of who I am." Damon was all of a sudden outraged. He had showed this human kindness. He had repeatedly over the week fought his urges just so she's be comfortable, and one slip up, that he was forced into making, and he was the bad guy? She had to be joking. "I owed you nothing coming here! Everything in my nature was yelling at me to rip your throat out and bleed you dry just so I could survive, because my body was broken, injured, starved. And I lost control for a couple seconds. Just a couple, and then I fought the predatory, uncaring, using vampire inside of me and I stopped. So next time you want to be all judgy and cast me out as 'one of them' you should look at all I haven't done just for your sake." By the end of it Damon had run out of steam. Under all the rage, and childlike tantrum he really was hurt. They hadn't known each other long but they had protected each other. He thought it would be that way until they got out of here. Instead she abandoned him.

Elena stared, open mouthed towards Damon. He had obviously stunned her. Damon wasn't quite sure why she was so shocked. After a second she regained her composure and went back to staring off in another direction. "Look, hate me or don't hate me, at this point I don't really care. I don't care about much of anything except getting out of here alive. And for that we are going to have to work together, so put your big girl panties on and work with me until we get out of here. Then I promise you won't ever have to see me again." Elena rolled her eyes, but reluctantly agreed. "Fine." she grumbled. Damon couldn't help the small smile that spread across his face. She looked like a drowned kitten in all her puffy anger.

The silence stretched on and Damon was fighting back sleep. He worried that if he fell asleep Kol and Elijah would return and catch him off guard. It had really unsettled him that they did not pay a visit that day. Right as Damon was about to nod off Elena cleared her throat. "We would never out run them, even if we did manage to get out." She said so quietly Damon wondered if she were talking to herself. "Actually." Damon interjected anyway. "Out running them is the easy part. We just have to get out into the sunlight. Vampires can't travel in the sun." She looked at him like he sprouted another head. "Um did you forget the part where you are also a non sunlight loving vampire?" She retorted. Damon couldn't help the chuckle that escaped his lips. "Whats funny?" She quipped. Her chest was puffed out and her chin jutted out, she was really adorable. "I have a daylight ring. It's been spelled by a witch to protect me from the sun. Stefan and I are the only vampires left with rings like this. All the others have been destroyed and witches no longer do vampires favors."

"I wonder why." Elena mumbled. Damon narrowed her eyes at her and wished she could see the glare he was shooting her. "Elena." Damon warned. She stuck her tongue out at him. Damon rolled his eyes into the darkness, she was a child. Elena grew thoughtful then though. For several agonizing minutes Damon sat and waited for her to let him in on what was rolling around in her head.

"You're killing me over here Elena. Tell me what you're thinking."

"I used to fantasize about getting out of here, and had come up with a few plans, but they would never work because I wasn't fast enough. I couldn't slip by them before they caught me again. With you here though, they might work." Elena spoke earnestly and her eyes darted around the dark room like she was seeing something that wasn't there. "Well I'm all ears kitten whenever you feel like telling me something useful." Damon smirked before he thought about how dark it was, then he sighed to himself. This darkness was really hurting his charm. She wasted a few short seconds to be angry about his quip but then got over it. "Okay Damon, I may have a plan, but it is kinda crazy, and it could very well kill me."


	5. Chapter 5

A HUGE thank you to Imarifirst for the helpful idea to incorporate the rings, and how they only work for the Salvatore brothers. I know this chapter is short But the next one should be very exciting! Thanks again for reading!

"Tell me about your ring." Elena said into the empty darkness. They'd been arguing all night over her idiotic plan. Then Damon grew tired and stopped trying to reason with the human. She was obviously delusional. "what do you want to know?" Damon asked tiredly. "why are you and your brother the only ones who have them?" Elena wondered. Seemed to her that rings of such magic would be rather valuable to vampires. "They only work on our bloodline." Damon said peered at him confused. Damon sighed and leaned against the wall behind him. "My mother grew very sick when I was 17. Back in those days we didn't have the medicine or the technology to cure illness like there are now so we knew she wasn't going to make it. The night before she died she asked to see me. So I went and sat with her and she told me about these rings. They were ugly, bulky things but she insisted that I take them. One for me and one for Stefan. She said they were special rings, that they'd keep up safe from illness and allergy. She said they had protection magic on them. At the time I thought her to be delusional but I didn't know about any of this yet." Damon gestured to himself and the room they were in. Elena watched Damon thoughtfully as he talked about his mother. He wondered what she saw in him then. "I took the rings and she died. I gave Stefan his and neither one of us ever wore them. Until we were turned. The witch who made them told us she spelled the rings to protect us from the very monsters we were now. She told us had we been wearing them it wouldn't have happened. We were young though, and scared and she said she'd help us, because of her love for our mother. So she changed the magic of the rings. Since they were Still spelled with my mother's blood, they only work on our bloodline. But the new spell protected us from the sun so we could try to lead normal lives, and so the townspeople would never suspect what we were." Damon sighed and watched Elena, waiting for her reaction.

"but you said there were more?" she argued.

"mhm. There was one person who knew we weren't human anymore, and they wanted to know why we could walk in sunlight. Our sire, she tortured Stefan for the answer. I couldn't get to him in time, I couldn't save him. So He told her and she forced a couple witches to make her some, which was very difficult because you need a living relatives blood to spell it on and our sire was very old, but she had it done. Once word got around about what she did to the witch though the witches retaliated. They burned our sire alive and destroyed all her rings. The witch that made our rings was so furious we had broken our promise to keep it a secret she, and all the other witches burned the spell, and swore not to help vampires ever again. All the witches who knew the spell have long since died."

"that's not fair of her. It wasn't Stefan's fault, he was being tortured." Damon just chuckled to himself at her statement. "You of all people should know how easy it is to be angry about something, even if it wasn't that person's fault." At this Elena stayed silent. Damon shrugged it off. "Anyway obviously some witches don't stand by that anymore, seeing as how these ropes are spelled. But no one can recreate the rings. That spell is gone."

"so why didn't they take it from you?" a crease formed between her eyebrows as she studied the darkness around her. "They can't use them but you'd think they wouldn't want you to have it either."

"I honestly don't know. Maybe they are too cocky to think I'll try to escape. I mean we are in a cement cell obviously somewhere underground. It's not like I can break through the walls and walk out of here. And like you said they can't use them so it's not like they'd gain anything by taking it."

"maybe it's because they didn't plan on keeping you." Elena said matter of factly. "They were gonna kill you that first day, before I stopped them." Damon nodded. "that could be it too." The two fell silent, thinking about that day from their individual point of views.

"Damon." Elena called.

"Yeah?"

"my plan could work." She said in a small voice. Damon groaned. "not this again Elena. I'm not willing to risk your life on the small chance it might work."

"it's fool proof Damon. They are gonna make you feed off me again. They enjoyed it too much to not to. You need to be at full strength so your gonna take as much as you can. Get back your full strength and the moment you do you pick me up and dart for the door. All we have to do is get up the stairs, down the hall and make a right and the front door will be straight ahead. Then we just have to beat them outside. The shock factor will give us a second head start, we could make it." Elena pleaded her plan again, for the tenth time. Damon growled "you're giving me too much credit Elena! I could hurt you. And if we don't make it out, and there's a good chance we won't, they may kill us both for trying to escape."

Elena's eyes filled with tears. When she spoke again her voice was wobbly. "I don't want to live like this anymore Damon. We have to try. Please?" Damon watched incredulously as this girl twisted him exactly the way she wanted. It was working too. He sighed. "Elena, you already hate me." He started.

"I don't hate you okay?" Elena interjected. "I'm sorry, for the way I treated you. I know it wasn't your fault." She sounded like a little kid who was being forced to apologize for slapping their younger sibling. Damon was in no position to be picky though, so he took her apology as a sincere one. "I really am sorry Elena." He said.

"I know Damon. Please help me get out of here." Damon sighed. This was never going to work, even if he managed not to kill her. "I'll try." He agreed. Elena smiled at him then and for a minute the room wasn't really dark. She was turning out to be a light for him in this very dark place, and that scared Damon most of all.


	6. Chapter 6

He agreed to try but Damon silently hoped that Kol and Elijah had had their fun with Damon feeding off of Elena, and wouldn't ask him to do it again. Then the whole issue would be moot. He wasn't that lucky though because sure enough the next day the boys were back and joyful as ever. They had simply loved the added effect of emotional turmoil, so they wanted to keep it going. They took some time weakening him, like usual. Stabbing him, cutting him open, letting him bleed. Then they taunted him. "You hungry Damon?" Kol prodded. "want another bite?" Damon growled at Kol. Elena played her part too, staying defiant and disgusted looking. They were playing right into their plan. The door stood wide open, like they always left it so light poured into the room. Kol laughed at the outburst and went to work on his ropes. Damon wouldn't budge though, even when kol tried to force him over to Elena. The plan wouldn't work if they didn't untie her too. Elijah laughed "very well then" he then untied Elena and drug her by her hair to him. Just like last time Elena clenched her eyes shut, and then Elijah tore into her throat. The smell of her blood smacked him just as hard as the first time he's smelled it. He was terrified. Elijah pushed the girl into Damon's chest and she stumbled into him. He steadied her gently and then, just as before cupped the back of her head and bent to her throat.

Elena's taste was unlike any other he'd tasted. She was all flavors. She tasted like sweet and sour, innocent and sexy, fear and pure ecstasy. He let himself marvel in it for a few seconds, blocking out the sounds of laughter from their captors, and the whimpering that was starting to sound more like moaning from Elena. When her heart beat began to grow weak she clenched his shoulders. It was a warning. If he didn't stop now, she might not make it through what they had to do next. For half a second longer Damon ignored her and then, much to the surprise of Elijah and Kol he wrapped his arms around Elena's waist and broke into a sprint.

Elena was limp in his arms, still conscious but barely. They made it out of the cellar door before the ominous laughter had stopped. Damon had made it down the hall and turned right. He could see the grand front door. Early evening sun shone through the glass at the top of the door. There were curtains pulled but some still shot through the cracks. It was going to work. Damon couldn't believe it, her idiotic plan was going to work. He felt his heart leap with hope. Then with a deafening crack something wooden and heavy struck Damon in the back. It caught him so off guard he was sent flying towards the floor. Elena had been thrown from his arms and she rolled across the foyer and smacked the wall next to the door.

Damon flipped over quickly to see Elijah hovering over him. His face was completely morphed and his fangs jutted out towards Damon's face. Kol stalked past the two, making his way towards Elena. Damon snapped his head up to see that she had gotten to her knees, but she was wobbling off balance. "Elena! The door! Run!" Damon called. At the sound of his voice Elena looked up panicked. Kol flashed to her side immediately and grabbed her by her hair. He threw her away from the door. Her body rolled across the floor but she rolled right back to her feet. She seemed to be feeling better. Kol laughed at her and began stalking slowly toward her like a lion trapping its prey. Damon turned back to see Elijah had picked up something wooden. Then Damon realized he had busted a wooden chair over his back, and what Elijah held was a broken piece of it. He was holding Damon's shoulders down now. "I should have killed you a long time ago." He growled near Damon's ear. Then Damon heard Elena scream as Kol bit into her neck once more. Propelled by sheer fear for the human girl he threw the older vampire off of him and in one quick motion grabbed a shard of wooden chair and threw it as hard as he could towards Kol. Then he got to his feet and faced Elijah, ready for the backlash.

Kol yelled in pain as the piece of wood struck his spine. Elena looked stunned. "Go Elena! Now!" Elena booked it for the front door. She got to it this time and threw it wide, allowing a rectangle shaped beam of light to flood the foyer. The two other vampires in the room hissed in distaste. She ran outside the door but then turned and watched. Elijah took advantage of Damon's distraction and plunged his makeshift stake into Damon's chest. Damon fell to his knees with a cry of pain. Now Kol was hovering over him too, holding the same piece of wood Damon had thrown at him. "End him. Now!" Elijah called. Damon struggled to get to his feet but Elijah was quicker. He knocked his feet out from under him, sending him painfully back to his knees. Damon looked towards Kol now. The look in his eyes was of hatred, but also joy. Kol was going to thoroughly enjoy putting Damon down. At least he got Elena out was the last thought he had before with a deafening snarl Kol plunged forward with the wooden stake.

Then Kol stopped short. His face frozen in surprise and pain. Elijah looked at his brother with confusion and then the younger of the two fell forward, turning grey as he died. Behind him stood a pale, shaking Elena, who had snuck back through the door while Elijah was gloating over Damon and plunged a hearty looking stick into Kol's back. She pierced his heart on the first try. Damon needed only a second to process what had just happened. Elijah lunged for Elena but Damon intercepted, successfully knocking Elijah to the ground. Damon then took the opportunity to scoop Elena up bridal style and dart for the door. Elijah let out a ferocious growl and tried to beat them to the door, and he would have if the sunlight would have permitted. Elijah stood outside the rays of light and screamed and growled after Damon's retreating figure. The sound was angry and broken, and no doubt meant he'd be coming for them, as soon as he could.

Damon ran down the porch steps, and out of the large, fancy yard. Her ran till he hit the street and then he kept running. There was nothing but forest all around them. Elena looked up at Damon with wide eyes that were slightly glazed over. Even if she hadn't lost a lot of blood, she was traumatized. She needed to rest, and process what just happened. They couldn't stop though. Damon knew as soon as the sun dipped below the horizon Elijah would be hot on their trail. He had to get her to safety. "Damon…" She whispered to him. He continued to run as fast as he could "Shh. Rest for a while. I'll protect you now. Just rest." And weather from blood loss, or trauma, or just pure exhaustion Elena gave him no fight, and let her round, tearful eyes fall closed.


	7. Chapter 7

Damon ran until the reached the city. Elena had been right, they were in New Orleans. Elena was still sleeping in his arms, but he slowed to a more human pace. By the time the sun was just above the horizon, threatening at dusk. He found a parking garage off one of the major roads and in an act of pure desperation found an unlocked car, and hot wired it. He put Elena down gently in the passenger seat. She opened her eyes, dazed and drowsy, then closed them again almost immediately. He couldn't get in the car fast enough. As the sun finally plunged below the horizon Damon turned onto the freeway and headed straight for the only place, and person he knew would give him an advantage.

At around 2 A.M. Elena stirred. She made a tired noise and then rubbed her eyes. When she opened them, she closed them again slowly, as if she were still willing herself to wake up. Then her eyes snapped to Damon. She was seeing him for the first time, like really seeing him. Damon could feel her eyes on every part of him. Starting with his messy black hair, his glowing blue eyes, his defined jaw line. Dropping to his lean figure. He was strong, toned, but not stalky. Tall and long and very, very sexy. Damon knew Elena was noticing. "Damon?" Elena finally asked. He finally got to throw her a smirk she could see. "Good morning kitten." He said playfully. She rolled her eyes after a minute too long of staring. "Where are we?" She wondered. "Goerrrgia." Damon twanged. They had just crossed the stateline from Alabama to Georgia about half an hour before she woke up. "Georgia? I can't be in georgia! Damon." Her voice quickly climbed octaves as she realized he was serious. Damon scrunched up his face. "What do you mean? You've been a basement for god knows how long and now you can't be in Georgia of all places?"

"No Damon, I live in Washington, home is the other way. We are driving in the wrong direction." She yelled, growing frustrated. "Stop the car!" Damon just peered sideways at her. "Damon! Stop the car!" She called again. He sighed and pulled over to the side of the road. She got out of the car and stood next to the open door taking gulps of air. Damon flashed to her side and looked down at her with concern. She looked up into his blue eyes, guarded and unsure. "I'm fine." She said. "We just have to turn around, go the other way."

"Do you want big bad Elijah following you back to your home and catching up with you and Jeremy? Is that what you want?" He asked.

"What?" She said, taken aback by his outburst. Damon rubbed his hands down his face. "Elena, right now there is a very dangerous, very angry vampire looking for us. Tracking us. If I turn around, and take you home, he will follow us there. Then you and your little brother are sure to die. Do you want that?" Damon spoke slow, so she could comprehend the full threat that they were under. Her eyes got a little wider but she otherwise had no response. "What were you going to do then just drive around?" She challenged after a while.

"I was taking us to Virginia. If we can get there, find Stefan and a few of our other friends, we could lure Elijah there and take him out for good. Then I would personally see to it you get home safely." She watched him, thinking out his plan. "How do I know you aren't just taking me to your own version of the creepy basement?" She finally asked aloud.

"Elena." He lifted her chin so she had to make eye contact with him. "I promise I will not keep you if you do not want to stay. You can leave right now, although I strongly advise against it. I've taken a particular liking to you and I really don't want you to die." He murmured to her. She averted her gaze so she didn't have to stare into his smoldering eyes. Finally she sighed in defeat. "Am I going to be safe with you?" She asked.

"Yes." He said confidently.

"Can I trust you?" She wondered. Damon rolled his eyes. "Get in the car." He said, walking back to his side of the car and climbing in. After one more second of hesitation, she climbed in and put her seat belt on, much to Damon's amusement. "Where'd you get the car?" Elena said, sort of as an afterthought.

"I stole it." Damon smirked down at her again. Elena's mouth hung open. "Damon!" She chastised. He just chuckled at her shock and floored it. With the moon shining brightly overhead, Damon was growing more nervous with each ticking second. He would never admit it to Elena, but he was terrified.

They drove through the night. They made it all the way through Georgia and into south Carolina by dawn. Elena did her best to sit as far away from Damon as possible. She kept her gaze out of the window and her hands folded tightly in her lap. They had had to stop a couple times so Elena could use the restroom. Each time he insisted she eat something since she looked like she hadn't eaten in a year. Damon was positive she was only alive because of the vampire blood she consumed almost nightly. They certainly didn't care for her properly.

It had been about 9 hours since they got on the road in New Orleans when Elena finally pulled her eyes from the window and glanced over at Damon. "What?" He asked. "How much farther?" She didn't ask it like she was whining. Just mildly curious. "We have about 6 hours left." Damon answered matter of factly. Elena just nodded and went back to staring out the window, Damon sighed and turned the radio on to a calm, quiet volume.

After another hour or so Elena's head leaned heavily against the window. She was fast asleep. Damon hated to admit it but he was tired too. He hadn't rested properly pretty much since Elijah took him. He couldn't wait to spend a night in his bed. Damon wondered again exactly how long Elena had been their blood bag. She wouldn't tell him, and he didn't want to pry, but he was sure it had to have been longer than a year.

He looked over at her then and found himself captivated. Her hair was long, it hung way past her shoulders in dark tangles. Her olive skin was still beautiful even after all that time in the basement. There were dark circles under her eyes, and her cheek bones were too pronounced due to malnutrition but she was still beautiful. In her sleep her face was relaxed, and her bottom lip stuck out, pouty and lax. She looked younger all of a sudden, Damon realized with a start that she was barely even an adult.

Elena was so young, too young to have been through all she had been through. Yet she showed the most resilience and strength Damon had ever seen a human show. Her heart beat like a human but she fought like something much stronger, and that intrigued Damon. "Watch the road." Elena muttered with her eyes still closed. His head snapped back to the road guiltily. Then he spared her another sideways glance. Her lips were turned up into the smallest of smiles.

Damon shook his head at himself. You fool he thought. Get it together. The drive went by silently and uneventful after that. It wasn't at all awkward anymore though. Elena slipped in and out of sleep for the remaining hours and Damon contented himself listening to the slowing and speeding up of her heart beat.

It was just past noon when Damon pulled into his driveway at the boarding house. "Jeez you live here?" Elena asked as she got out of the stolen car. Damon laughed. "It's my families old boarding house. Stefan and I have lived in it for 100 years now." She threw Damon a frightened glance, hearing for the first time just how old Damon really is. He chuckled at her expression and walked ahead of her to the large front door. She hesitated but shrugged and followed him anyway. The prospect of a shower was too good in that moment to cause a scene.

The inside of the boarding house was still very 18th century. There were large busts throughout the hallway and in the front room was a huge fire place surrounded by antique couches, rugs, and tables. Damon walked straight up to the table behind the couch and poured himself some bourbon out of the crystal jug that sat there with a few glasses. He downed the first glass in one gulp, then poured another. Elena stood awkwardly watching the vampire. "Stefan!" Damon called. The house was silent though. Stefan wasn't there. Damon sighed and turned to Elena. "I don't know where he could be. I'm going to go try to call him. The bedrooms are upstairs. There is a bathroom in most of them. Please make yourself at home." Elena tried to say something in response but words failed her. So she instead turned on her toes and looked towards the grand staircase. "The first one on the right is mine. Also feel free to make yourself at home there." Damon said with a smirk over his shoulder. She rolled her eyes and made a mental note not to take that one.

Damon chuckled as she made a quick retreat upstairs. He liked making her uncomfortable. Her heart rate spiked and he could hear her breathing get faster. Damon ambled into the kitchen and picked up the old home phone. Stefan picked up on the third ring. "Hello?"

"Stefan. Where are you?"

"Damon!? Where are you? Are you okay?" Stefan all but shrieked. Damon rolled his eyes.

"Im at the boarding house. Can you meet me here?"

"I'm on my way." Stefan said sternly then hung up the phone. Good Damon thought. At least he wouldn't have to also track down Stefan. Elena hadn't come back down yet by the time Stefan arrived. He bounded through the door and walked quickly over to Damon. He pulled Damon in stiffly for a hug, which Damon reciprocated. Honestly he'd been worried sick about Stefan. When he pulled back Damon gave Stefan a once over. His hair was light and sticking up in his usual look. He had a white T-shirt on and jeans. He looked to be completely fine.

Damon smacked the back of his head. "Ow!" Stefan protested holding the spot Damon had hit. "Why didn't you come find me?" Damon demanded. Stefan just looked at him with a look of confusion. With his brow furrowed he asked "Why would I come find you?"


	8. Chapter 8

"Because I was vamp napped Stefan." Damon tried to keep his voice low. Stefan's face went from shock to understanding quickly.

"I slipped out of the bar when the fight started. Then I couldn't find you. I searched all over town when you hadn't come home the next day. Then I got a text from you telling me you'd met a girl at the bar after the fight and that you wouldn't be home for a while." Damon just stared at his little brother. Between him and Elena he was really starting to feel like the only smart person alive. "And you believed me?" Damon asked.

"I mean that does sound like you Damon. You've done stuff like that before. I spent the last week or so waiting for your fling to pass. I had no idea." Stefan looked guilty now. And not normal guilty, Stefan guilty. Stefan could hear about an earthquake across the world that killed puppies and he'd feel responsible. Damon rolled his eyes and sighed. "It's fine Stefan. I'm fine. I'm home now." Stefan nodded. "Yeah. Okay." Just then Elena came padding down the stairs in a familiar looking black T-shirt and and grey sweats with wet hair. She was more like swimming in them. "Damon I hope you don't mind I borrowed." She stopped short when she saw both men gaping at her. Stefan's brow was furrowed in confusion, Damon's mouth was hanging open slightly.

Elena's expression grew worried, and she began to back towards the staircase. Damon snapped out of it then "Elena this is Stefan. Stefan this is Elena. We have a lot to catch up on." Stefan turned his confused expression on his brother then. Elena searched Damon's face and then Stefan's. "You don't really look like brothers." She said suspiciously. Stefan stayed looking at Damon, his confused look turning into one of judgement. "He looks like our dad, I look like our mom." Damon said matter of factly. "Ohhh." Elena nodded nonchalantly. "Well I hope you don't mind I borrowed some clothes to sleep in." She said into the uncomfortable silence. "You're welcome to whatever you need Elena." He told her.

"Would someone please tell me whats going on? Why is there a human here?" Stefan said the second part quietly to just Damon. Damon glared at Stefan. "Come here Elena. Let's sit. So Stef here can get caught up on everything." Elena searched Damon's face for reassurance. He nodded to her, trying to convey that everything was going to be okay. She eventually made her way over to the couches with Damon and Stefan, but she sat on the far end of the couch and was careful not to look at either one of them for too long. She was downright timid. Damon couldn't put it together how she could be so strong, and so courageous in the face of Kol and Elijah and yet Stefan made her clam up. He was literally the most harmless thing you could encounter, next to a butterfly.

It took about an hour to tell Stefan everything. He listened intently, then apologized to Elena for the rude way he had acted. She had timidly told him it was fine. "Rebecca and I do know each other, but I didn't kill her." Stefan said.

"I never thought you did brother." Damon said cooly as he took another sip of bourbon.

"No I mean like no one killed her. She's still very much alive." Damon and Elena both widened their eyes but it was Elena who said "She is? Do you know where she is?" Damon watched her questioningly and she purposefully ignored him. "Sure. My friend Caroline took her to Italy, to find their other brother, Klaus."

"Why would they say she's dead then?" Elena wondered aloud.

"Caroline called Kol and told them she died. She didn't say I killed her though."

"Hold on wait. Stop! Stefan you should start from the beginning." Damon interjected. Stefan looked between his brother and the strange human girl, then reluctantly spoke. "I met Rebecca a few months ago. She was charming to say the least, but I quickly found out she had lots of problems. One night she told me about her wicked brothers and how they had forced her to leave Klaus and go with them to New Orleans. How they did awful things to people. She told me they sometimes did awful things to her. She seemed distressed and desperate, so Caroline and I helped her track down Klaus, who only confirmed her story about her wicked brothers. From there Caroline and Klaus devised a plan to get Rebecca back to him, and to make sure neither Kol nor Elijah would come looking for her. And you know the rest." Elena didn't look the least bit surprised by all this information. Damon was having a hard time putting it all together. He didn't ever once consider that the devils sister would have been a prisoner too.

"So you killed Kol?" Stefan asked Elena. Elena shuddered but nodded firmly.

"I guess that means Elijah will be coming here then." Elena looked to Damon now. Damon nodded. "I need your help baby bro." He said. He looked back at Elena trying to convey the message to Stefan that he cared about this girl. That he wanted her to be safe, protected. Stefan watched his brother and then, in the way only him and his brother can, he understood what needed to be done. "We are going to have to kill him." Stefan said.

Elena had gone to bed a few hours ago. Damon and Stefan had stayed up trying to come up with a plan. They knew they wouldn't have long before Elijah would track them here. Elijah was strong, but Damon knew that if Stefan and him were both at their strongest, they could take him together. They had to be ready though. They both immediately started drinking blood bags, as many as they could stomach. Damon felt wonderful. He hadn't been this full or this healthy in a while now. They decided they would sleep in shifts, so they could never be taken off guard. Who ever was to be awake would stand guard outside Elena's door. They both knew she was what really needed to be protected. She was defenseless otherwise.

Since Damon was feeling so great, high off the energy the blood gave him he insisted he took first shift. After some convincing Stefan agreed and retired to his room. Damon wandered up the stairs and listened for the only heart beat in the house. It didn't take long for Damon to find her door. He knocked quietly. A muffled "Come in." came from the other side of the door. Damon cracked the door to see a now dry haired Elena sitting on her bed, holding a pillow on her lap.

Damon walked over to her bed and sat beside her. "How are you doing?" He asked.

"Fine. All things considered." She said, sounding a little like she'd been crying. Damon tucked some hair behind her ear. "Try to get some rest. Stefan and I decided to take shifts until Elijah shows up. I have first so if you need anything I will be right outside your door okay?" Elena sniffled and nodded. Damon got up to leave but right before he opened her door she stopped him. "Damon." Damon turned and watched her questioningly.

"Thank you." She whispered as a tear rolled down her cheek. Damon's brow furrowed. "For what?" He wondered. She wiped at the tears on her face, and gestured around the room. "For all of this. For everything you and your brother are doing for me. I was terrible to you at times back there. You don't have to do any of this for me." She continued to wipe at tears that were escaping. Damon walked back over to her and wiped at them for her with his thumb. "The fact that you really believe I don't have to is exactly why I must, and I will." She stared up at him with her big doe eyes and he felt her relax just a fraction. He gave her a tender smile and then walked out of her bedroom. His care for her was reaching dangerous levels.


	9. Chapter 9

Damon sat up that whole night, listening to Elena breathe. Hearing the soft sounds she'd make in her sleep. He often wondered what she was dreaming of. There was something about her Damon just couldn't shake. For over 160 years Damon found human life rather unremarkable. He had never met a human he felt was worth something more than what they were. But something about Elena, about how fragile she obviously was. Something about how she fought every day anyway, like she valued her life, even as fragile and as broken as she was. Something about all of that woke something up in Damon he wasn't even aware he was missing until he had it back. Something about her made him miss being a human.

The next day Stefan called Caroline. After filling her in on where Damon had actually been, and on Elena, Stefan asked her to come home as soon as possible. Of course she agreed but something in her voice told Stefan there was something bothering her about it. Now that he thought about it she had been there for quite a bit longer than he had expected her to be. Perhaps she had taken a liking to Italy. When Elena finally woke up, sometime in the early afternoon, Damon told her they would be getting a new roommate soon. Elena seemed to be uncomfortable when new vampires showed up so he wanted her to be prepared.

"And who is Caroline to you?" She had asked in between bites of the pancakes Damon had made her.

"She is an old friend of Stefan's from one of his many ventures through high school. She was raised here, but was turned by one of Stefan's jealous ex's. Needless to say we are now more or less responsible for her because Stefan's a coward." Damon said throwing a glare towards Stefan. Stefan looked up from his breakfast and merely smiled. "He's just angry because his fling with Caroline went sour and now she makes his life a living hell when she's around. She is fantastic." Damon's glare grew more pronounced but the quarrel made Elena actually giggle. It was a bubbly sound that lit the room even brighter. Even Stefan had to stop to admire it "Ah she does smile. You should smile more often Elena, it suits you." Stefan said with a sweet smile. Damon shot him a furious warning stare which Stefan noticed and furrowed his brow to. He knew better than anyone Damon didn't get jealous, especially over human girls.

Elena smiled politely back at Stefan but quickly turned her attention back to Damon. "Will she fight Elijah too?" Elena wondered.

"She'd be more than willing im sure. If not for you and Damon, then definitely for rebecca. They got to be rather close in their time together." Stefan answered instead. Elena continued to look at Damon though, as if he answered and he gave her a nice smile. "You'll like her. She is one of us." Damon said, trying to help her understand she wasn't in any danger here. Elena nodded as she tried to wrap her head around it. Damon wondered how odd it must be to be Elena. To know something with such utter resolve, to understand something completely as one way, then to wake up one day and have everything you know turned upside down. She must be having to reroute every opinion and reaction she wants to have to fit this new sort of vampire in her life. Damon didn't envy her mental state.

"Okay." Elena finally said. She pushed away her empty breakfast plate. Damon picked it up and went over to the sink where his and Stefan's plate still sat. He began to wash them off. Elena walked up behind him then with a towel in hand. "Can I dry?" Elena asked.

"Don't be silly Elena, you don't have to do anything." Damon said.

"Please? I've been sleeping so much, I'd like to be busy, if only for a second." She pleaded with her big brown eyes and how could Damon say no to that. He laughed and shook his head. "Okay. Here." He handed her the plate he had just washed. She dried the dish and then the next in silence. "How are you doing with all of this?" Damon asked quietly.

"I'm okay." She responded.

"I know you aren't fond of my kind, and that having to be in a house full of them doesn't sound ideal. I'm just trying to get you home safe." Damon explained.

"I know Damon. It's really not all that bad. You and your brother, you're different." She said as she dried the last plate and set it down. When Damon remained silent she looked up at him. He quickly averted his gaze and cleared his throat. "Yeah, well, I told you so." He said. She laughed and playfully pushed his arm. He pretended to be knocked off balance which made her laugh some more. Damon studied her until she sobered up. "Stefan's right. Your smile is great." Elena blushed slightly. Then it was her turn to clear her throat.

"Um, so tougher question, you got anything I can actually wear?" She said gesturing down to the pair of sweats and T shirt she had borrowed from Damon that was hanging loosely off her body. Damon looked her up and down and then started to laugh. "C'mon." He took her hand and was pleasantly surprised when she let him. He lead her up the stairs and a few doors past the room she'd been staying in. "This is Caroline's room when she stays here. Her closet is always full. You can wear anything in there, she already said." Elena looked unsure so he pushed the bedroom door open. Elena gasped when she saw the room. It was pink. Like a light nude color pink, but still pink. The bedding was a beautiful pearl with darker shades of pink creating a lovely design on it. The windows had curtain that were frilly and girly, and there was throw pillows literally everywhere. "My god." Elena said as she stepped into the room. Damon chuckled.

"She's a bit over the top in some aspects, but Stefan is right. Caroline, most of the time, is fantastic." Damon said when he saw the slight horror on Elena's face. She didn't even acknowledge his statement. "The closet is over there." Damon pointed to the door on the left. Elena opened it and revealed a walk in closet full to the top with clothes and shoes. Mostly stuff Elena would never wear, but she eventually found a pair of plain jeans and a purple sweater. There was a pair of expensive looking Nike tennis shoes in the back corner that Elena grabbed along with a pair of socks. Just then Damon heard Stefan's phone ring from across the house. He heard Stefan explain that Damon didn't have his cell phone, and Damon flashed out of the room, and down to the kitchen where Stefan was. "Let me talk to her brother." he said to an unexpecting Stefan. This phone call was exactly what he needed.


	10. Chapter 10

This chapter changed the point of view from Damon to Elena so we can get a better feel for how she is really feeling throughout all of this. It's important to this part of the story to see how Elena is developing and starting to change as she meets the people in Damon's life, who are more willing to do anything to protect her than she is really prepared for.

* * *

Elena changed quickly but made sure to put the outfit she had snagged from Damon's room in her room. It smelled wonderful and she would definitely want to wear it to bed again. She looked at herself in the mirror. The clothes would have fit her, had she not been so unusually thin. They hung loose in some areas because of it, but they were still better than Damon's clothes. The shoes were a perfect fit. Elena then examined her face. She looked like a skeleton. Her cheek bones stuck out too far and her eyes looked sunken in. Still she could see a little bit of her old self in there. She had snagged a brush out of Caroline's room and brushed her long hair out for the first time in what felt like a century. When she realized it wasn't going to straighten by itself she threw it up into a messy pony tail. There was still wounds on her neck from where Damon and Kol had bitten into her the day they ran. She hadn't gotten her usual dose of vampire blood so they didn't heal. They stuck out red, and bruised. She grimaced at her reflection before turning and heading back down stairs where she found Stefan sitting on the couch.

"Where'd Damon go?" She asked nervously. Damon had been by her side literally every minute since they escaped, she felt a little uncomfortable without him.

"He went to talk to a friend, Bonnie. She's a witch." He said, not looking up from the book he was reading.

"He didn't tell me he was going anywhere today." She said a little miffed. She was not comfortable enough to be here alone with Stefan. He looked up at the distress in her voice. "She called just a while ago, he had to leave in a hurry but he told me to tell you he'd be right back." She looked around nervously.

"I'm sorry you're uncomfortable." Stefan said, looking genuinely concerned. Elena then felt bad for being so obvious about her nerves. "I'm just not used to vampires being so friendly is all." She explained. Stefan nodded and smiled politely.

"You owe me no explanation Elena. I get it. You have every right to be nervous." His green eyes looked into her like he was seeing inside of her and for some reason Elena suddenly felt comfortable. She gave him a small smile back. "Mind if I join you?" She asked. His smile grew. She walked timidly over to the couch he was lounging in and perched on the farthest seat away from him.

"So does your brother spend a lot of time saving damsels in distress?" Elena asked jokingly. Stefan's face turned serious and he regarded Elena thoughtfully. "Actually my brother spends most of his time keeping everyone at arm's length. He never gets close enough to anyone to know they even need to be saved." He said earnestly. Elena furrowed her brow.

"But he's been so good to me, since the day we met, he took care of me, even when I didn't see it." Stefan nodded.

"So I've noticed. It's weird for me to watch him with you. He becomes more like.."

"You?" Elena interjected. Stefan shook his head.

"More like who he used to be, before he turned." Elena regarded Stefan solemnly.

"Was it hard for him? The transition?" Elena wondered. She had never thought about vampires before they were vampires. The fact that they were humans once, and that maybe their choice was taken from them and they were forced to be what they were. 'What makes you ignorant is that you see me for what I am despite who I am' Damon had hollered at her when she was being particularly mean. Could that be why he was so upset then?

"Damon never wanted this life. I made the transition without a second thought, but Damon, he wanted to die. I begged him to stay with me, so he did. He's never been the same though, not till now anyway." Elena looked away from Stefan. Suddenly she was having to face a whole new reality when it came to vampires. Damon lost his choice, he was no more a monster than she was.

"Stefan why do you think he is so different with me?" She asked worriedly.

He shrugged. "I dont know. Maybe he sees something in you that he doesn't see in himself anymore."

Just then the door opened and Damon came in, a slender, dark skinned girl trailing behind him. Her brown hair was short and her wide eyes were green. When the girl saw Stefan she smiled a huge smile. It was literally like watching her face open up and pour happiness into the room. She was beautiful. "Hi stefan." She said in a pleasant voice. He stood to embrace the girl. While Stefan hugged her Damon flashed to Elena's side. "I'm sorry I left like that. Are you okay?" Elena jumped a little at his sudden proximity but nodded anyway. She nonchalantly took a step away from him. "The clothes look nice on you by the way." He said as he pretended not to notice the deliberate maneuver to separate them. She gave him a tight smile "Thanks." She said.

"Bonnie, this is Elena, Elena this is my best friend Bonnie. She's a witch." Damon said. Bonnie gave Elena a wide smile and held out her hand. Elena took it instinctively. Her grip was firm but her hands were soft and warm. Elena hadn't had physical contact with another human since before she was taken. Her heart sped up at the touch. "So nice to meet you Elena. Damon here won't shut up about you." She said jokingly. Damon's eyes got huge. Elena found herself laughing at the very human like exchange between Damon and Bonnie. She could almost see them as regular people, regular friends who had known each other for ages.

"Hold on, I thought you said witches swore off helping vampires?" Elena asked remembering the story of their rings. Bonnie laughed but Damon replied. " Yeah and I also said they dont all hold to that now a days. Besides Bonnie is my friend and just so happens to be a witch, she only lends a helping, magical hand when she wants to." Bonnie rolled her eyes at Damon.

Elena knew they were close by the way they stood, and talked around each other. There was lightness to Damon she hadn't seen before with Bonnie around. Bonnie's eyes always found Damon and Damon always seemed to be orbiting around her. Elena immediately grew suspicious, and admittedly a little jealous. Hadn't Stefan just said he wasn't close to anyone? She threw Stefan a quick accusative glance. He wasn't paying attention though.

"Elena?" Damon said touching her shoulder.

"Huh? Sorry. What?"

"I said Bonnie is going to put a protection spell around the house, so when Elijah does show up, he can't get in."

"Oh. Good. What's the plan for when he does show up?" Elena asked.

"hopefully Caroline gets here first, then she, Stefan and I will take care of him. The three of us should make easy work of him," Damon said confidently. Elena was glad he felt confident because she was beginning to feel sick to her stomach. Suddenly all Elena wanted was to go home to her brother. "Elena, are you okay?" Bonnie asked. Damon assessed her then. She dismissed them both. "Im fine. Thank you for helping. I just need some air." With that Elena walked right out of the front door and into the afternoon daylight. Virginia was peaceful and quiet. There was no city noise where they were, and she could hear birds chirping. The outside world felt so immune to the turmoil in her life. Like the universe still didn't know vampires and magic existed.

She missed when she didn't know. When the hardest thing about her life was losing her parents. Now everything was so much more complicated. Death made sense in her world. People were supposed to live and then die and the people they leave behind are supposed to mourn and move on. Everything about her world defied those truths though and it was all too much for her. Elena cared about Damon and she didn't want to. She didn't want to put roots down in a life like this, with people like this. She wanted to get back to college, and Jeremy and just trying to survive being an orphan. Now those things all felt like another person's life. Sometimes she felt like even if she made it home, she'd never go back. She was beginning to fell like this life was all she had left.


	11. Chapter 11

"Elena?" It was Stefan. Elena sighed and turned to acknowledge him. He was standing within arm's reach of her and he stopped abruptly when she turned.

"You okay?" He asked.

"He seems to get close to people just fine." She said and then snapped her mouth closed in shock. She wasn't sure where it came from or why it came pouring out of her mouth when that was the last thing on her mind but it did. She stared at Stefan anxiously waiting for his reply. Stefan looked confused, and then realization dawned on him. He tried to hide a smile but was unsuccessful. He chuckled a bit which only irritated Elena further.

Elena glared at Stefan until he could pull it together enough to speak. "He is close with Bonnie. They are closer than him and me sometimes. But they are just friends. The love they share is just as much family based as the love him and I share. It took years of persistent nagging for Damon to open up to Bonnie. She saw something in him."

"How did they meet?" Elena asked curiously.

"She's Caroline's best friend." Elena blanched.

"But she's my age!" She said. Stefan laughed again and it was really starting to tick her off that they found her lack of knowledge so funny.

"What Damon failed to tell you was that I met Caroline in my last venture through high school, which I just completed 3 years ago. I met Caroline and Bonnie when they were freshman. Caroline was turned her junior year and Bonnie told us she was a witch after that. Caroline and Damon fooled around for a time but they are too different. She got on his nerves, and he got on hers. Bonnie though, she saw something in Damon and they clicked. But like I said it's very much like family." Elena nodded as she took in all the information. After a minute Stefan peered into her eyes.

"Was this really because you were jealous?" He asked gesturing to her stroll halfway out into the yard. Elena sighed and dropped her head. "Not originally no. I was just feeling overwhelmed. This is all too much for me sometimes. My life used to be painfully normal." She confided. Stefan smiled in understanding. "Ah I see. It's understandable Elena, but just try to keep in mind we all used to have painfully normal lives. It is overwhelming, but everything Damon is doing, all these people he is bringing here, is to make sure you can return to yours." Elena searched Stefan's face for any signs of deceit or for even an ounce of jealousy but the truth was, Stefan was just genuinely good. She could see he cared about Damon, and was even beginning to care about her. They really were nothing like the last vampire family she encountered.

Just then Damon came out with a suspicious look on his face when he saw Stefan and Elena talking. His face was covered in poorly veiled jealousy.

"Bonnie is about to do the spell." He said curtly. Stefan looked back at his brother and nodded then turned back to Elena. "Oh boy." He said with a slight smile, then he turned and jogged back up to the house. Elena took one last look around the quiet, simple yard and allowed herself two calming deep breaths. She was closer to going home now than she had been in the last two years, and as much as she didn't want to she was beginning to trust Damon and Stefan.

By the time Elena came back in, Bonnie was out back, Damon said she was putting the spell up. Elena, a little embarrassed over her latest stunt, busied herself with studying the books in the shelves around the room. The room was lined with book shelves and the shelves were stuffed full of all different kinds of books. Had circumstances been different Elena would have been in heaven.

She felt someone approach and knew almost instinctively it was Damon. He lightly touched the wound on her neck, sending a shiver through her body. She wasn't sure if it was of pleasure or pain that shook her but she found herself wishing he wouldn't have pulled away immediately so she could have figured it out.

"I should have healed you. I didn't even think about it." He murmured. He sounded like he was talking to himself but she turned to meet his guilt ridden blue eyes. She smiled timidly at him and he searched her eyes. "It's fine Damon. They don't really hurt." She comforted him, not liking the sad look on his face.

He tried to smile back at her but it came out as more of a grimace. "I'm so sorry." He whispered now thoroughly examining the bruised and bloody wound on her neck. She stuck a tiny hand over it effectively blocking it from his view. "Stop." she commanded. "It was my idea, and it doesn't hurt. You don't have to be sorry." This time he managed a sad looking smile when he met her eyes, and then he glanced behind her. "Like to read?" he pondered as he plucked a book off the shelf.

"I used to." She said simply.

"This is one of my favorites." he said handing her the book he grabbed. It was Call of the Wild. She looked at him curiously. "Yeah?" she asked incredulously. He nodded and smirked at her. She couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. Then Bonnie came in, laughing effortlessly with Stefan. They both stopped when they saw Damon and Elena. Elena looked away from Damon bashfully as a dark crimson spread across her cheeks. Bonnie smiled a knowing smile at Damon before saying anything. He smirked back at her. "It's done. You are gonna have to call me when Caroline gets into town. I'll have to lower it for her to get into the house." She said all business like. Damon nodded his appreciation towards her and she touched his shoulder affectionately as she walked by. "I have some stuff to do so I'm gonna run out. It was wonderful to meet you Elena." She said sincerely towards Elena with one of her happiness pouring smiles. Elena returned the sentiment before the girl walked out of the front door.

"She's nice." Elena tried to sound friendly. Damon eyed her beseechingly at her tone but played it off. "She's my only close friend. She was the only person to ever look past what I was and want to get to know who I was." Elena stared at him as she remembered yet again the words he had yelled at her that night in the basement. She absentmindedly fingered the cover of the book in her hand. "Do you love her?" Elena prodded. Damon chuckled. "yeah I do. She's the closest thing I have to a sister." He sounded nonchalant, but Elena wondered if he said it on purpose. Could he see the slight jealousy in her? Elena was suddenly embarrassed for a whole nother reason.


	12. Chapter 12

Back to Damon's point of view for this chapter. The point of views will change back and forth from here on out, and I'll be sure to let you all know when it does. Thank you for all the feedback! I really enjoy hearing opinions, and getting ideas from other people so let me know what you think! (:

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That afternoon passed slowly. Nothing was happening and it was making Elena grow anxious. She paced incessantly through most of the evening despite Damon telling her several times she could relax. Even if Elijah could travel in the day time, he couldn't get in. She was safe. None of it made a difference to her though. Damon sat on the couch and watched her pace for a while, when he grew bored of her growing angst he picked up The Call of the Wild, which Elena had set down when she started to fret.

He began to skim over the words he pretty much knew by heart now. At about 7 Damon gave up reading and decided to make Elena dinner. He made her soup and some garlic bread. He didn't want to shock her system when she had been without food for so long. It took some convincing but Elena finally sat down to eat, and ate every bite. To Damon's surprised delight she helped him do the dishes again.

They didn't have much conversation but the atmosphere between them was comfortable, almost routine even. Stefan spent the majority of his day away from them, insisting he was busy with "things" when Elena would ask nervously about his lack of presence. Damon was sure that only added to her nerves. If he was being honest it was his fault. He had had a bout of jealousy when he came outside and saw Elena confiding in Stefan. When Stefan had come inside he had made it a point to tell him that he cared for Elena and the last thing he needed was Stefan to be in the middle of it.

"She doesn't need the drama that it will most certainly be Stef." Damon had said to him menacingly. Stefan had held his hands up in surrender. Promising he had no intentions of causing drama and that he will stay away from now on.

Damon felt bad now but at the time he was blinded by his protectiveness over Elena. Stefan was the easier one to get to know, to care for out of the two. Damon knew this, he had made it that way. Bonnie had had to fight her way into his heart and he knew he hadn't made it easy on her. Stefan on the other hand was an open book. He still seemed very you, he was relatable, understanding. Plenty of people preferred Stefan to Damon and while Damon would never say it or act like it he was terrified Elena would start to care for Stefan and that she never would care for him.

"Damon?" Elena had wandered over to the spot on the couch where Damon was sitting. He had grabbed a glass and poured himself a drink after Elena and him had finished the dishes. Then he found his way back over to the couch where he now sat watching the fire. He looked up at her and noticed she was nibbling on her lip nervously. "will you read to me?" she asked. Damon merely smiled.

He grabbed the book and sat more comfortably on the couch. He patted the seat next to him and she sat stiffly. He rolled his eyes but opened the book to a random page anyway and began to read. "And so it went," He read. "the inexorable elimination of the superfluous."

Elena listened intently and Damon read mostly from memory. Soon Damon felt Elena scoot closer to him and he held the book more towards her so she could see. After a few more pages her head rested gently on his strong shoulder. He smiled but otherwise remained completely still, scared he might frighten her off.

He read her three chapters and when her head grew heavy on his shoulder he looked over at her. She was sound asleep. Damon smiled, happy to see her relaxed finally. He peered out of the window in his view and saw that the sun was dipping low in the sky. It was almost completely out of view now.

This was the time of day that made him nervous. Damon knew Elijah couldn't be far out now. He would show up soon, and even though they were well prepared he was still scared he wouldn't be able to keep his word. Stefan had told him that Elijah's family was old. Like thousands of years old which made Elijah much faster and much stronger than them. Not to mention the ropes Elena and him had been tied up with were spelled by a witch to hold them, so Elijah also had a witch willing to work with him. He could still get to her theoretically.

Damon sighed quietly and looked back at the sleeping girl on his shoulder. It was hard to care for someone so fragile. At least with Bonnie and Stefan he knew they at least stood a chance against an enemy. Elena wasn't even healthy by human standards. Damon was scared for her.

"Damon." Stefan called coming down the stairs. Damon shushed him with a stern glance over his shoulder. Stefan looked over Damon to see why and then mouthed "sorry" when he saw Elena's sleeping form.

"You better get some rest while you can." Stefan whispered. It wasn't that late but Stefan knew as well as Damon, Elijah could show up at any time. Better they be prepared.

"I know." Damon whispered in reply, going back to staring out the window. Stefan watched his brother expectantly but he didn't say anything else. Instead Damon maneuvered out from under Elena and picked her up gently bridal style. She shifted restlessly and laid her head back on Damon's shoulder. He silently carried her to her room, and tucked her into her bed. After removing her shoes and easing the hair tie out of her hair he made a silent retreat back downstairs, where he found his brother pouring two drinks.

Stefan handed one to Damon and then leaned on the arm of the couch, nursing his own drink. "When is Caroline supposed to be here?" Damon wondered. Stefan put his drink down and folded his hands in front of his lap. "Any time now. I should tell you, Klaus is coming." Damon's eyes about popped out of his head. "Elijah's brother Klaus? He's coming here?" Damon asked exasperated. "I know Damon, thats what ive been doing all this time. I've been on the phone with Caroline on and off trying to understand why she thought bringing him would be a good idea." Stefan said defensively

"And?" Damon waited, his anger level rising.

"She made a good point. We need someone who knows Elijah. Rebecca refused to come back, she was too afraid. Caroline said Klaus is a really great guy, and feels awful about what his brothers have done. He says we are gonna need knowledge to stop Elijah and he wants to help. For what it's worth I think we should let him."

"Okay and what about Elena huh? Do you think she is gonna be okay with this at all? Staying with the brother of the men who have kept her captive for god knows how long? She can hardly relax around us." Damon couldn't find the right words to express his feelings. He was angry at Caroline for just making a decision, he was angry at Stefan for not asking him about it beforehand, he was worried for Elena and for everyone else he cared about. How could they trust Klaus? He was after all Elijah's brother.

"Damon, we don't really have a choice, he's faster and stronger than us. He knows more than we do. We don't have much of an advantage, even together. We will watch him, but Caroline swears he's trustworthy."

"Yeah well that makes me feel so much better that Elijah's brother has Barbie's golden star approval." Damon quipped. None of this made him feel better, for Elena or himself. Stefan just looked at his brother with calm eyes and it made Damon want to punch him. Sometimes Stefan didn't think. He after all was still young and Damon thought that perhaps he didn't always think everything through. Damon glared and tried to rack his brain for a solution. There was none though, he couldn't stop what was already in motion. He would just have to be extra careful. "You're responsible for him Stef. If anything goes wrong, if anyone ends up hurt, it's on you." Damon said, feeling that sort of calm angry that would scare anyone who was smart enough to pick up on it. Stefan nodded, he understood the position they were all in now, but he really felt like it was their best shot. Damon set his glass down harshly and turned back to the stairs. "I want someone with him, at all times Stefan, and you better not leave Elena unattended." And with that he disappeared into his room.

At the sight of his huge victorian style bed, all anger left him for two seconds. Damon hadn't slept a wink in two days and the call of sleep was suddenly all he could hear. He groaned to himself and rubbed his hands down his face. He knew Stefan was right, that they really didn't have an advantage on Elijah, even if they wanted to play it that way. Each hour that passed that Elijah didn't show up only kept them more in the dark. Damon was sure he would follow them straight here, he was sure he would try to crash into their house with all of his grieving rage and throw all of his power at them, but two full days and nights had passed since Elena had killed Kol and still there was no sign of him.

Truth was they weren't prepared at all for a calculated attack, and everyone, himself included, was in danger. Damon trudged into his bathroom and stipped off his dirty clothes. He stood in the shower for a long time, just letting the hot water run over him. He could still feel the ghost of the pain from all of the torture in each one of his muscles. That's the hard part about being a vampire. The blood will heal the physical wound but you will always remember, in vivid detail, how it hurt, what hurt, what it felt like. Damon's body still trembled at the thought of it.

When he finally pulled himself out of the shower he threw on a pair of sweats. He left his chest bare as he peaked out of his door and looked down the hall. Elena's door was four down from his and in the dark hallway he could still make out Stefan's form, sitting by her door. He was reading a book. "Goodnight Damon." He said it quietly, like he was speaking to someone sitting next to him, but Damon heard him all the same. "Goodnight brother." He said in the same low tone. He shut his door quietly behind him. Damon looked back towards his bed and didn't want to fight in any longer. He lost himself under the sheets and fell quickly into a deep and dreamless sleep.

"Damon." Damon stirred a little, trying to ignore whatever dream his mind had conjured up. He was too tired for dreams. Something nudged his bare shoulder. "Damon." His eyes shot open and he looked around frantically. Elena was standing there in his t-shirt and sweats. Her hair was all tangled on one side and her eyes were wide with fear. "Sorry." She winced. Damon relaxed immediately. "Elena." He rubbed his tired, burning eyes and looked at her more calmly. "What's wrong?" He asked, voice still thick with sleep.

"I heard noises downstairs and when I went to ask Stefan about it he wasn't by my door. I got worried." She looked around nervously, and looked super embarrassed. Damon furrowed his brow and strained his ears to hear the commotion down stairs. He could hear Caroline's familiar laugh and Stefan speaking in a quiet voice. He could hear a heartbeat too which meant Bonnie was also down there. Then he heard an unfamiliar voice with a familiar english accent. That had to be Klaus. Damon sighed and looked back at Elena, who's cheeks were growing redder by the second. "It's Caroline and Bonnie. Caroline just got in." Damon explained. Relief washed through Elena and her body visibly sagged. She looked nervously back to the door. "Oh, okay then. Sorry I woke you." She turned slowly and began to walk to the door.

"Elena." Damon called. She looked back like a dog who had just gotten in trouble. "Come here." He said calmly. She walked quickly to his bedside and watched him and waited.

"Do you want to sleep in here?" He offered. She furrowed her brow as her cheeks grew bright red again. "You can have the bed, I'll sleep on the floor." He amended. "I just thought with new people in the house you'd be more comfortable being in a room with me, ya know like it used to be." He smirked at her and he was rewarded with a small smile and an eye roll.

"I don't want you to sleep on the floor Damon, you've hardly slept at all in the last couple days." He waved her off and began to climb out of the bed. She put her hands on his shoulders though and stopped him. "No." She raised her eyes to meet his and they melted together. His marvelous blue, and her delicious brown. They stood, trapped in each others stares for a second. Damon had to fight back the urge to close the small distance between them. He wanted to kiss her so badly it hurt. Then Elena cleared her throat.

"I'm serious, stay on the bed." She sounded so stern that Damon immediately laid back down. She then gracefully walked around the bed and laid down next to him on the other side. Damon watched her, his face a huge question mark. "But I also don't want to sleep alone with new people in the house." She mumbled, asking with her eyes if this were okay. Damon couldn't help the lazy grin that spread across his face. If only she knew how okay it was with him.

"Okay." was his simple reply. He laid on his side facing Elena and she faced him. His eyes slid closed again almost immediately. They snapped back open when he felt Elena wrap her tiny hand around his though. Her eyes were closed, and a smile touched her pouty lips. Damon smiled to himself and turned his hand to close his fingers around hers. "Goodnight Lena." He murmured. Her breathing quickened for a few seconds and then she murmured back "Goodnight Damon." Then Damon was asleep again.


	13. Chapter 13

"Elijah is careful, calculating. Even in times of extreme emotion he has always been the one to stop and think things through. He isn't going to just storm in and attack you. He will wait. Think it out." Klaus's voice was pitched low, Bonnie had long since went home, and in the early morning light the vampire sat around the living room, nursing glasses of bourbon. Damon had reluctantly untangled himself from Elena at dawn. In her sleep she had wrapped her legs around his and was resting her head on his shoulder.

When he came down stairs Stefan, Caroline and who he assumed to be Klaus were all sitting and watching the fire. The curtains around the house were closed tight, Caroline and Klaus couldn't sit in the rising sun.

A short hour after introductions and more than a few stare downs between Klaus and Damon they dove into discussing Elijah.

"Does he know witches?" Damon asked, nervously looking up to the top of the stairs, waiting for Elena to wake.

"Our family has been associated with witches for hundreds of years. But not like your Bonnie. There is no love or respect between them. Witches fear him" Klaus said. His voice had the same English accent but his tone was very different from his cackling brothers. It was a soft whisper, almost soothing.

Caroline furrowed her brow. Her usually perfect blonde waves were pulled back into a high ponytail. She looked tired and underfed. Damon noticed she leaned toward Klaus like Elena sometimes seemed to lean towards him when she was nervous.

"So how do we stop him if he has skill, age, and witches over us?" she said in a worried voice. Stefan stayed silent, he was brooding down at the liquid in his almost empty glass. Klaus merely smiled.

"You have me now" He said sounding the most menacing he had since he walked in the door.

"I have his age and skill and every reason in the world to want to see him dead. My poor sister has been through enough." He said this with obvious sincerity, but his concerned glance turned towards Caroline, who shared the brief eye contact in a moment so intimate it made Damon want to look away. So that's why she hadn't come home yet. Damon internally rolled his eyes. Blondie fell in love every time she met a new guy.

"So are we just going to wait him out here or what?" Stefan said sounding agitated. "There's not much of a choice Stefan, your brother said it's been like what three days since he escaped, Elijah could be anywhere by now, I wouldn't even know where to begin to find him. He will come here, and we will be ready." Klaus said sternly. Damon pictured them as dogs peeing all over Caroline.

Damon heard Elena's breathing change. It was rapid and her heart was racing. He got up without warning and flashed into his bedroom. She was still asleep, though the blankets were tangled around her now. Her brow was furrowed and she was whimpering quietly.

"Elena." He whispered and touched her shoulder. She continued to moan quietly. "Elena." He said louder. She jumped awake and away from Damon's touch. She was looking around with wide eyes, fear evident in them. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. You were having a bad dream." Damon said calmly. She looked to him and seemed to realize where she was. Her eyes relaxed but she pulled her knees to her chest and laid her head on them. "I'm sorry." She said in a steady voice. Damon sat on the bed next to her and stroked her hair. "Want to talk about it?" he asked. She just shook her head. "Okay." He stroked her hair for a little while longer then got up. "You hungry? Do you want some breakfast?" he asked lightly. Elena looked up at him. Her eyes were dry and she looked a little more lively today. A little of the defiant fight he'd seen against Kol and Elijah was dancing behind her eyes. "that sounds nice actually. I'm just gonna shower first." She got up and made a move to leave his room but he flashed in front of her. She stepped back, looking up into his eyes with a confused expression. "There's something I need to tell you before you go out there."

"what?" Elena said suspiciously

"Caroline brought someone with her"

"Is it rebecca?" she asked sounding almost hopeful. Damon narrowed his eyes.

"No. It's Her brother, Klaus." Elena's eyes widened and then she shouldered her way out of the door, leaving a confused Damon staring after her.

Damon shook his head and then followed her out of the door. Much to his surprise Elena was almost skipping down the stairs. When she saw the other vampires she said "Klaus?" there was a hopeful smile on her face. Damon walked down the stairs feeling dazed. He watched as Klaus got up from the couch and stared at Elena. He looked as if he had seen a ghost. "Elena?" he questioned. Then Elena was _hugging_ him. Damon s mouth flopped open, along with Stefan s.

Elena threw her arms around his neck and he wrapped his around her waist. He turned her around as they both laughed like children. All the other vampires could do was stare, Stefan and Damon in blatant shock and Caroline in curiosity.

"you're alive? You're okay? Oh my god you're okay." Klaus cooed as he stepped back and ran his hands down her arms, like he was trying to make sure she was actually there. She smiled brightly up at Klaus and tears made her eyes glitter. "Yes, yes I'm fine. Thanks to Damon, I'm fine." She looked up the stairs to Damon then and Damon snapped his mouth closed.

"you two know each other?" Caroline spoke up. Klaus laughed joyously.

"oh a long time ago, how long Elena? like two or three years? Elena and I were great friends." He spoke to Caroline but he never stopped looking at Elena like he was seeing an angel.

"Thank you mate, for helping her." Klaus said to Damon who could only manage a confused nod. Stefan was still staring with his mouth agape.


	14. Chapter 14

Ahh. okay so this is a long one, but it needed to be done :) Hope you enjoy! Dont forget to review!

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Elena soon excused herself to shower and Caroline offered to go with her to help her find some clothes. Elena agreed cautiously after sending a questioning glance towards Damon. Damon nodded his approval and the girls disappeared upstairs.

Damon wandered into the kitchen to start making the breakfast he'd promised Elena, although she seemed to have forgotten about it. Klaus and Stefan soon joined him in the kitchen.

"You didn't know she was going to be here?" Stefan was asking.

"No Caroline never mentioned that Damon had saved a human, and I thought they had killed her long ago, especially after rebecca showed up to my door." Stefan was nodding like he understood and Damon was growing agitated. He had fought, kicking and screaming to earn an ounce of Elena's trust and in walks this guy and she throws herself at him like he wasn't the enemies brother? What was worse is that everyone was acting like it was normal.

"How do you know Elena, Klaus?" Damon asked sounding more territorial than he meant to. Stefan gave him a warning glance which he ignored.

"She didn't ever tell you how she came to be in New Orleans?" he asked. Damon growled internally. No she never told him why she was in New Orleans, or why she was in the basement, or anything really. She didn't tell him cause she didn't trust him because as far as he knew she didn't like vampires.

"It's not my story to tell mate, if she's having trouble sharing I don't want to break her trust in me." Damon slammed the plate of French toast he had just finished onto the counter and avoided eye contact with either male in the room. "Yeah, I understand." He said through his clenched teeth and then he left the room.

Damon stormed into the living room and poured himself a drink. Then, other vampires be damned, he walked over to the window next to the fire place and pulled back the curtain. Sunlight washed through the room. It took a second for his eyes to adjust and then he was staring out into the early morning light.

Standing there after his barely controlled tantrum, he felt like the peeing dog he imagined Stefan as earlier. He had no right really to feel the way he was feeling right now, but he couldn't help it. It was time for him to just face the fact that he wanted Elena. What's worse is that he wanted her to want him back and with this thing between them he didn't think she ever would.

"Ah! Damon!" Caroline exclaimed as she tried to descend the stairs. He looked behind him but the sunlight didn't reach all the way to the staircase. She could make it to the kitchen. So he turned back around and stared out towards the garden again. Caroline groaned some more and then darted into the kitchen.

"Damon?" it was Elena's voice, and she was standing close to him. He felt his muscles stiffen but he otherwise ignored her.

"Damon are you okay?" she reached out and touched his t-shirt clad shoulder. He spun around quickly and looked down at her. She jumped at his fast movement and he wondered if he had been Klaus if she would have jumped at all.

He had to stop to admire her then because her hair was hanging past her shoulders, dry and straight. It shined in the sunlight. She had on a simple navy dress that left her shoulders bare and hung down to just above her knees. Her feet were bare.

"Damon?" she prodded. He cleared his throat and turned back towards the window. "I'm fine Elena." He said while closing the curtain back up.

"I know you must be confused. I can explain" Damon held up a hand and she shut her mouth with an audible snap. Once the curtain was fully in place he turned back to her and did his best to smile politely.

"No need Elena. I'm just glad it's not a problem. C'mon, breakfast is done." He turned her by her shoulders and nudged her into the kitchen where everyone else was already eating. She sat next to Klaus and they spoke all morning about Italy and his life, she never talked about the basement or the things that went on, and when he mentioned rebecca he sounded apologetic. Damon couldn't watch their familiar exchange anymore. "Elena, I'm going to go talk to Bonnie for a while, are you going to be okay here?" He asked. She barely looked up at him "Yeah I'll be okay." She confirmed. Damon turned away from them and rolled his eyes.

Caroline and Stefan were in the front room by now, their heads bent together as they talked in hushed tones. He rolled his eyes openly at them. When he turned towards the front door Stefan stuck his head up. "where are you going?" He asked.

"Talk to Bonnie about the protection spell." He said in a final tone that ceased all other questions. Once he was out of the front door he broke into a sprint and didn't stop until he stood in front of a familiar cream colored house. Bonnie opened the door before he could even knock.

"What's wrong?" She asked after looking him up and down. He sighed. "Can I come in?"

"Is everyone okay Damon?" she asked worriedly. He waved her off, walking around her anyway. Bonnie's house was small, but very homey. She had inherited all of her grandmother's old antique stuff which she had littered around her quaint front room. Her couch was a wrap around sectional that matched the cream color of her house, and the room always smelled like incense and tea.

"Everyone is fine. More than fine actually." He grumbled as he flopped himself onto the couch. She folded her arms across her chest and raised her eyebrow.

"Don't look at me like that, you don't know everything." He said.

"But I know you, and I know there is something wrong." Damon rolled his eyes for the third time in a half hour. She sat down next to him and put a hand on his knee. "C'mon Damon, what's bothering you?" Damon met her caring green eyes. He told her about the whole scene between Elena and Klaus. He confided in her about his growing feelings for Elena and when she began to laugh he told her he was going to leave. She tried to stifle her giggles. "No, Damon don't leave. I'm sorry. I'm done." She said sobering up completely. Damon reluctantly sat back down beside her. "I do think it's strange that she won't tell you her past, but I saw the way she looks at you Damon, she feels the same way for you that you do about her."

"Then what is the thing between her and Klaus? Why can she trust him so completely?" Bonnie shook her head.

"I don't know Damon, but you should give her the chance to explain. She's been through a lot, she deserves a chance." Bonnie said sincerely.

Damon spent most of the morning and afternoon with Bonnie. He didn't trust himself to act right in front of Elena and Klaus and the last thing he needed was to get angry and scare Elena more. Being that it was daylight, Damon felt confident enough about Elena's safety.

Bonnie told Damon about the new magic she'd been working on, and also about college and how she was having a hard time juggling both. Damon told her that she should take more time to just enjoy college. He told her being supernatural wasn't all it was cracked up to be, and she should take advantage of the choice she has to be more normal. Damon also told her about his time in captivity, how much it could still hurt every once in awhile.

Damon was always surprised with how comfortable he could be with Bonnie. A lot of the same things that intrigued Damon about Elena were also true about Bonnie. She had a fighter's spirit, she stood up for what she believed in and wanted. She was strong, even being a fragile human underneath the witch part of her. She demanded that he love her and he couldn't help but to give in.

He always picked on Stefan for bringing Caroline into their lives, but honestly he was so glad he did. He couldn't picture his life without Bonnie now and he had Caroline to think for his best friend.

When the sun began to hang low in the sky he relented that he should go back and be with Elena. "Am I going to be able to get in my house?" he asked Bonnie.

"Yeah. After Caroline and Klaus got in last night I redid the protection spell to recognize the four of you." she explained. By the four of them Damon assumed she meant the four vampires.

Bonnie gave him an affectionate hug and told him not to worry so much. He left with a promise to try and then he walked home at a human pace.

Virginia was beautiful in late summer, the road was quiet, with very little shops and businesses. Bonnie and the Salvatore brothers lived outside of town So he didn't have to deal with the traffic of the town square.

The sun hung just above the horizon by the time he walked in the front door. When he stepped into the front room no one was in sight. "Honey I'm home" he said sarcastically to the empty room. Stefan came trotting down the stairs then. "Hey, how's Bonnie?" he asked.

"She's fine. Where is everyone?" he wondered.

"Caroline and Klaus went for a walk outback. Elena went to her room a while ago. I've been sitting in my room, keeping an ear on her." Stefan laughed at his joke, Damon didn't.

"Are Caroline and Klaus within hearing range?" Damon asked. Stefan concentrated for a minute but then nodded. Damon nodded back. "Okay well you should go get some rest soon." Stefan nodded and after pouring himself some more bourbon, took off back towards his room.

Damon concentrated and tried to find Caroline with his ears. Her voice was higher pitched so it would be easier to find.

"I was not jealous Klaus, just curious." Caroline was saying. She sounded playful, but there was an underlying tone that told Damon she was lying. Damon stopped focusing on them and instead searched for Elena's heartbeat. He found it immediately. It was a little quicker than usual, but not too much. Damon deduced she was probably dreaming.

Once he was satisfied with his examination of the house and it's residence he took the stairs two at a time to his room. He planned to run through a shower before posting himself at Elena's door.

When he opened the heavy wooden door he stopped in his tracks. Elena sat, perched on his bed, wearing his sweats and and a different T-shirt of his. She stared at him, waiting, and when he didn't move or say anything she darted her eyes around the room. "I heard you come in. I figured you'd come here first." She said ashamedly.

"I thought you were asleep." Damon said, finding his legs again and trying to stroll into his room as coolly as possible.

"It's still early Damon." She said.

"Hasn't stopped you before." He joked with her. She laughed good naturedly, but then just stared at him with her large doe eyes. He sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. "What is it Elena?" he asked, suddenly very tired.

"I want to explain." She said. When he started shaking his head she spoke faster. "Damon I want to. I think you deserve to know. I want you to know." Damon searched her face for doubt. He didn't want her to tell him anything out of fear or obligation. All he found was sincerity.

Damon sighed and ambled over to his bed where he settled in next to her. Their shoulders were touching he sat so close to her. "Okay. Explain then." He said and gave her a tired, encouraging smile.


	15. Chapter 15

Okay this chapter switches back to Elena's Point of View for the long awaited reason for how she came to be Elijah's prisoner! Enjoyyyy

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Elena stared off into the distance as she tried to pick individual thoughts out of the mess in her mind. It had been so good to see Klaus again, but she could tell it had upset Damon. She really didn't know why, but it was obvious it had. Then he left and stayed gone all day. Even though she had a wonderful conversation with Klaus, she still hadn't spent that much time away from Damon since their escape and she had spent the majority of the day anxious.

Caroline had been wonderful to her all day. She questioned her good naturedly about how she knew Klaus and Elena was happy to tell her about the summer Klaus and Rebecca and her spent together.

They talked like old friends, like they'd know each other forever and Elena realized how badly she missed companionship. Caroline had told her that she should tell Damon. "He's upset Elena. I can tell. He probably doesn't understand. Damon doesn't let people in very easily" Caroline had pushed. Elena had agreed but when she'd tried to explain things to Damon he had shut her down, and then left.

That's when she planned her ambush, so to speak. Now they were here, and he was listening, and he was touching her shoulder. She couldn't think straight. "Elena?" Damon asked with a worried edge to his voice.

"The summer before I went to college I took a trip to New Orleans." She decided to just start at the beginning and give him everything. "I had some of my parents life insurance policy money left over and Jeremy insisted I spend it on myself, that I should go somewhere to celebrate my scholarship. So I road tripped to New Orleans, because I'd always wanted to see it. I'm a bit of a history buff so the culture and history of the city called to me. I rented a sort of lake house for the summer. My first week there, I met rebecca. She was wonderful. She was so full of life, she was fun. She took me all over the city, she showed me everything. We became fast friends. I could tell she was lonely, and truth be told I could have used a companion too.

At the time she was staying with her three brothers Klaus, Elijah, and Kol. She never took me to her house, and she never talked about Elijah and Kol. But after about a month she brought Klaus out with us. He was sweet and respectful, and shy. I was taken with him if I'm being honest but he made it very clear to me what we were to each other, and that was strictly friends.

We spent the rest of the summer together, the three of us. I had the summer of my life. Near the end of it, rebecca spent a lot of time upset. Some days Klaus would show up with her and she'd be a mess of tears and we would stay in my lake house all day, cooking and watching movies.

A week before I was to leave to go home Klaus and rebecca stormed into my house. They were angry and rebecca was crying and everything was hectic. Klaus was yelling about how he couldn't stand by and let these things go on and rebecca would plead with him to calm down. "You can't take them both" she cried. But Klaus was adamant. He was done. That's when they told me that Elijah and Kol were abusive to Rebecca and Klaus wanted to take her away. I couldn't understand why they didn't just leave but they stressed that it wasn't that simple.

That night they stayed with me, but Elijah and Kol found us. They couldn't get in the house so they set it on fire. We had no choice but to leave it. Then Kol grabbed me by my neck and bit into me. I screamed, I screamed so loud and so did rebecca." Elena absentmindedly touched the wound that was currently on her neck. "Klaus was fighting with Elijah. Kol yelled that if they didn't stop He'd "kill the girl" and the fighting and screaming stopped immediately. Klaus watched me with hurt eyes and rebecca cried silently. Little did I know that there would be no getting out of that." Elena felt her eyes glaze over and she had to take a minute to breathe and steady herself. Damon took her hand in his and rubbed his thumb in soothing circles over the back of her hand. After a couple deep breaths she continued.

"In exchange to spare me my life, Elijah made Klaus promise to leave the country, and made rebecca promise to stay. And so they complied, just to save me.

That was about three years ago now. Rebecca was as much a prisoner as me, only not really. They did things to her, though I'll never know what, but she didn't get tied up like I did. She could come go as she pleased, they knew she'd never leave me. They called her and Klaus foolish to have cared so much for a human. They told her If she ever left they would kill me on the spot and so she never did, until about 6 months before you showed up.

One day Kol came down to the basement to tell me my "little friend" had abandoned me, and that meant they were going to kill me. Elijah stopped him though. He said with rebecca gone, he would miss a feminine presence around the house, and that when they drug Rebecca back from wherever she went they would make her kill me.

Next thing I knew they brought you in and they were saying she's dead. By that time I was so angry at her for leaving me, just abandoning me to be killed I didn't care. But when I heard Stefan say she was alive I found myself relieved to hear it. She did so much to save me, how can I begrudge her saving herself?" Elena's eyes were swimming with tears by the time she finally finished her speech. Damon was looking into her eyes tenderly and she was overwhelmed by how bad she wanted him to hold her. From the moment he had shown up in the basement she had felt stronger. Just having him around made her want to fight. He awoke something in her that made her feel strong, invincible, powerful. She wanted to fight with Damon around. She needed to feel that strength now as a few tears finally escaped her eyes and slid down her cheeks. He lifted his hand and brushed the tears away gently. She took the opportunity to bury her head into his chest. He stiffened for a second and then relaxed as he wrapped his arms around her.

Elena was surrounded by his scent. Everything about him comforted her. The strong set of his arms, his steady breathing that remained constant even though it didn't have to, his delicious soapy, wooden smell. She nuzzled his chest and pressed herself closer. Damon took that as an okay and he quickly scooped her up cradled her in his lap as if she were a child. She made a small noise in surprise but welcomed the new position happily.

"I'm so sorry Elena." He said and kissed her temple. Elena's body jolted at his kiss. Suddenly all of her nerve endings were in fire. She wanted him to kiss her more, to kiss her lips. She wanted him to want her.

Elena pulled away from Damon's chest to stare into his beautiful blue eyes. He looked back at her with a look that told her he wanted the same things she did. "Damon.." Elena said. She felt like she was vibrating. His face was so close to hers, it wouldn't take anything but her lifting her chin to touch his lips with hers. "I'm sorry Elena." He said hoarsely and then he pressed his lips gently to hers. She pulled back after a second and smiled sweetly at him. "Don't be." She said. She wasn't sure if he was apologizing because of what she had been through, or for the kiss but either way she beginning to be grateful for both. He smiled back at her and then kissed her gently again.

All of the fire inside of her that yearned for him exploded. She kissed him back hungrily. He picked up on her mood quickly and matched her hunger with his. They kissed furiously. He picked her up again and placed her so her slender legs were straddling his lap and then he wrapped his arms around her back. He pulled her against him like he could get her close enough. Elena's heart was racing, she never wanted to stop kissing Damon. He tasted like sunlight, and the ocean, and like a summer's day in New Orleans before her life plummeted down this awful rabbit hole. She tangled her fingers in his hair and he made a low noise in the back of his throat, so Elena tangled them deeper. She felt his fingers touch her hips on top of the shirt she'd snagged from his drawer. She gave a noise of approval, hoping he'd explore underneath it.

"Elena." Damon broke away from her soft lips to whisper her name in warning.

"BONNIE!" somewhere downstairs Caroline screamed in terror


	16. Chapter 16

Damon's point of view

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Damon looked towards his closed door in dazed confusion, still trying to shake off the thick haze Elena's kiss had put him in.

"DAMON!" that was Stefan. He was near the front door. Damon shot up immediately, depositing a now anxious looking Elena back on the bed. "Stay here. Don't move." He told her sternly. She nodded and then he disappeared out of the room, coming to a stop next to his brother. He gasped as his heart sank to his feet when he looked out the open front door.

Caroline stood at the door baring her fangs defensively at a young dark skinned girl who was standing closest to the door. She had her hands up and she was chanting foreign words that Damon immediately recognized as witchcraft. Next to her was Elijah, also with his fangs bared, though he was smiling menacingly. In Elijah's arms was an unconscious Bonnie.

Klaus was behind Caroline with a protective hand on her shoulder, though he looked the most calm out of them all. "Bonnie." Damon whispered. Fear coursed through his body. How did he even know about Bonnie?

"Give her to me, and you can have your witch back Damon." Elijah addressed Damon directly, looking past a snarling Caroline and his brother. Her? Elena..

"Caroline!" Damon yelled. She didn't acknowledge him. "Caroline! Elena!" at this Caroline's head snapped back to look at Damon. She read the intensity in his eyes and then she was gone. She blurred up the stairs, leaving Klaus face to face with his brother.

Damon sped to the door ready to rip Bonnie out of his cold hands but Klaus stuck an arm up blocking his path. Damon glared at Klaus. "The minute you go out there he will kill you. This witch is not the only one he brought with him. Do not underestimate him" Klaus cautioned. Elijah laughed wickedly. "Give her to me Damon, we have a debt to settle."

"Go to hell, tell your brother hi for me." Damon spat. Elijah's smile only deepened.

"No matter. Soon my witch will have this protection spell brought down, then I'll get her myself." Behind Klaus and Damon, Stefan smiled slightly. He knew that Elijah's witch wouldn't succeed in bringing the spell down. Stefan had been with her when she put the spell up. It was spelled to her, because she was supposed to be their secret weapon.

The night Caroline and Klaus got in the four of them had sat up talking for a while. Klaus had told Bonnie she'd be their best bet at catching Elijah off guard. He suspected He'd bring a witch with him so Klaus told Bonnie to tie the spell to something, so it couldn't be compromised without the destruction of that specific object. Bonnie had tied it to her heartbeat, knowing it would be the safest since Elijah had no idea she existed. It was a complex spell, one of the best she'd ever done. There was no way he could get through it, at least they thought.

"You won't get through." Stefan said calmly. For the first time Elijah acknowledged him. "I see my brother has no problem staying with the man who killed our beloved sister. You two were very close weren't you?" Elijah asked Klaus.

"You have been misinformed brother, our baby sister is alive and well, and sends her regards. And yes we are rather close. I can't wait to rip your throat out for her." Klaus snarled. Elijah's eyes widened only slightly at the news but he otherwise stood emotionless.

"Elijah, I can't get through. It's bound to something." the other witch said. Damon stared down at her with bewildered eyes. He hadn't know Bonnie had bound it to something. Elijah snarled. "Give me Elena Damon, so help me God I'll kill your pet witch." He was yelling in Damon s face now. Damon tried to mask his horror but failed miserably.

"I've been watching you these past two days Damon, I know she means a lot to you. Are you really willing to let her die for some human girl? Could you betray your only friend that easily?" Damon's eyes widened as he realized how stupid he had been. He had been so blinded by his stupid jealousy over Klaus that He'd led Elijah right to Bonnie, where she stayed, unprotected. He practically handed her over on a silver platter.

"Now brother why must you always resort to bargaining? Really, it makes you look desperate." Klaus taunted. "let the witch go and fight me for Elena. I promise to kill you quick" Klaus continued.

"Says the one hiding behind a protection spell." Elijah snapped back. Damon couldn't stand the way elijah's hand tightened on Bonnie s throat. He took advantage of the momentary distraction and lunged at Elijah. There was a chorus of "No's" shouted as his body sailed towards Elijah's,

Damon's body slammed against Elijah's and they all three crashed to the ground with a loud thud. Then Damon's head exploded with pain as Elijah's witch began to chant. He stayed on his knees, gripping his head and screaming in pain.

"Stefan! Get bonnie! Stefan!" Damon cried between screams. Stefan tried to rush to his brothers aid but was stopped by Klaus. Elijah was now on his feet and towering over Damon. He spat on Damon. "Stupid child! Did you really think you could take me that easily?" Elijah said to a still screamin Damon. From the treeline on the right side of the yard, came two more witches. These ones were fair skinned, with blonde hair. One boy, and one girl. They were also chanting. Inside the house Stefan and Klaus fell to their knees in agony as well.

"What is the spell bound to?" Elijah asked the group. The three vampires on their knees just groaned in pain.

"WHAT IS IT BOUND TO?" Elijah hollered losing his cool. Then Elijah dropped to his knees, also moaning in pain, as the same head splitting pain ripped through him. Behind him, a now awake Bonnie was standing.

"Me." She said. Then she threw all of her energy into a blast that knocked all three other witches off their feet. Now free of pain Stefan, Klaus, and Damon stood up. Damon rushed to Bonnie. "Are you okay?" He asked frantically. She nodded at him, but blood was seeping out of her nose. She looked around worriedly as the witches began to get up again. She threw out another blast, knocking them off their feet again. Her magic was depleting, along with her energy. Damon could see she was bleeding out of her ears too. She couldn't withhold both spells and soon Elijah was back on his feet. He flashed towards Damon and Bonnie at full speed.

Damon grabbed Bonnie and pushed her inside the door, effectively putting her on the other side of the protection spell. "Damon!" Stefan called as Elijah collided with Damon, sending them both flying into the brick wall of the porch. "I'm going to enjoy this." Elijah said as he stood on Damon's chest, poised to rip his heart out.

Then Elijah went flying down the steps on the porch, Klaus snarling on top of him. They were a nothing but a blur as the tumbled around the circle driveway leading up the boarding house. Damon blurred back inside the door and turned to watch the fight. The three witches in the yard now stood motionless, watching things unfold.

"Gretel! Take him down! Liv! Luke! Someone take him down!" Damon heard Elijah call. The dark skinned girl stopped the blonde female from starting a spell. She said something to the other two witches, and then they all took off together. They just left. Elijah snarled to see such defiance. Klaus was quickly getting the upper hand on him.

Then Elijah grabbed Klaus's shoulders and threw him with all his might up towards the door. Klaus his hit the brick with a thundering crack. He struggled to his knees, as he waited for what Damon was sure a broken back to heal enough for him to walk on. Elijah flashed up to him and grabbed him by his throat. "You are weak, and you alway have been." He said in Klaus's face. He plunged his hand into Klaus's chest. Klaus yelled out in pain.

Then Damon was pushed out of the way of the door and a tiny blur of brown hair ran past him, right up to Elijah. "Elena no!" Caroline shrieked, appearing next to Damon. She gasped when she saw the position klaus was in. "Stop! Stop! I'm here just stop." Elena was pleading with tear filled eyes with the ferocious looking vampire. "Elena no." Klaus grunted. Elijah grinned wildly at Elena and dropped his brother unceremoniously to the floor. Klaus coughed and held his chest. Much to the chagrin of Bonnie and Stefan, Caroline rushed to his side.

"Ah Elena. Finally." He reached for Elena. Damon looked to Bonnie for help but she was hardly conscious. Caroline lunged at Elijah and he batted her away like an irritating gnat. He brushed Elena's hair to the side, exposing her old wound. His fangs shot out, as his eyes turned dark with hunger. "You deserve this, for what you have taken from me. You have taken everything from me, and now, I will end you." Elijah whispered to Elena. Damon yelled for Klaus and Caroline. They were frozen with fear for Elena. Elena stood with her chin jutted out, defiant to the end. Damon turned to Stefan "Stay with Bonnie Stef." He said. Stefan tried to protest and Damon's heart clenched. He threw himself out the door and one last time collided with Elijah. Elijah growled, irritated to be interrupted. "I'm through with this!" He quickly reached out and snapped Damon's neck. Damon fell lifeless to the ground as Elena screamed


	17. Chapter 17

Elena's Point of View

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Elena dropped helplessly to Damon's side. Klaus rushed Caroline back inside the house and then he took off after his brother again.

This time Elijah was prepared for Klaus and he turned in time to thrust his fist back into Klaus's chest mid air. Caroline tried to get to him but Stefan held her back "No Caroline! He will kill you too!" Stefan pleaded.

"Let me go Stefan, now! Let me go now!" Caroline was hollering. Elena looked up at the commotion happening in front of her. Caroline was hollering at Stefan, struggling to get to Klaus. It was clear to her now that Caroline loved Klaus. Stefan was hollering at Caroline, trying to keep her inside because he loved her, something else that was blindingly clear now. Elijah was laughing at all the turmoil, or at the thrill of killing his own brother, Elena wasn't really sure. Damon lay still beside her, lifeless but not dead, and if he had been up and fighting she'd be hollering for him too. Because in that moment it was clear to her that she loved Damon. They had spent three weeks together, being prisoners, being on the run, hiding out, and now, at the end of it all, in the middle of total chaos she just knew.

No one else saw her approach because they were all yelling. But Elena was sitting quietly, watching the horror unfold and she saw the movement in the dark. Elijah was gloating over the incapacitated Klaus, making the scene especially painful for Caroline. Elena's eye caught sight of blonde hair, shining in the porch light. First fear shot through her, thinking for sure one of the blonde witches had showed back up. Then girl attached to the blonde hair spoke.

"You deserve this." She said calmly and then she plunged her delicate hand into Elijah's chest and tore his heart out. Elijah grunted in surprise as the life drained from his body. Klaus unattached himself from Elijah's lifeless hand and his body slumped to the ground, revealing to the rest of the group who saved the day.

"Sister." Klaus gasped, rubbing his chest, trying to assure himself his heart was still in there. She dropped a red, sickeningly gross blob to the ground next to Elijah's body and smiled sweetly at Klaus.

"Hello Klaus." Rebecca helped her older brother to her feet and then Caroline slammed into her, giving her the biggest hug of the world. Rebecca wrapped her arms around Caroline but her eyes found Elena. Elena met her eyes but didn't move from Damon's side. Rebecca's expression was one of regret and overpowering relief.

Klaus pried Caroline off his sister and took his turn at embracing her. Then Stefan emerged from the house. Klaus introduced him to Rebecca. They greeted each other politely, but Elena thought she saw Stefan's eyes lingered a little longer than they should have on her. Then he approached her. "That stunt you pulled tonight was dumb" Stefan started in a stern voice.

"Stefan I-" he cut her off.

"And brave, and if you would have died I would have brought you back just to kill you." Then he hoisted her up to his feet and pulled her in for a hug. She started for a second and then relaxed, giving in to the unfamiliar closeness she felt for him. She hugged him back and felt tears touch her eyes.

When he pulled away his eyes found his brother lying on the ground. "We should take him inside, put him in bed." Stefan said. Elena furrowed her brow.

"Is he going to be okay?" She wondered. She didn't really know what happened to a vampire if they broke their necks. Stefan just nodded though. "He isn't really dead. Just unconscious. He and Bonnie are going to need some time to rest." Elena nodded. He hoisted Damon up on his shoulder and carried him inside like he weighed nothing more than Elena. She watched in fascination.

"Elena?" Elena jumped a little but turned to see the source of the voice. It was Rebecca. Her hair was a straight blonde halo that fell to her shoulders. Her hand was still covered in her brother's blood and her eyes were swimming in tears. Elena stared at her old friend, unsure of what to do or feel. "Elena I'm so sorry." She said around a sob. Elena felt tears prick her own eyes and she had to look away from Rebecca to make it stop. "I understand if you hate me. What I did is unforgivable." She muttered. Elena looked back towards the blonde. "Rebecca I don't hate you." She said firmly. Rebecca furrowed her brow.

"I was angry. God I was so angry with you for just leaving me to die like that. I had a life, a little brother who has no one, out of the two of us I deserved to be free." Tears slipped down Elena's face for what felt like the thousandth time since she escaped the basement.

"I know Elena." Rebecca started. Elena stuck up a hand to stop her. She closed her mouth.

"But what you _did_ was came back, despite the risk, and saved us all. And that is hardly _unforgivable._ " Elena muttered. Rebecca let out a small sob and pulled her old friend into a tight hug. They cried together, and even though Elena wasn't really sure if she could be Rebecca's friend again, she knew in that moment, they all needed each other. There wasn't a single one of them who hadn't almost lost their lives, and elena was beginning to see just how much all them had risked just for her. So she embraced the girl back, and she cried on her shoulder.

"Rebecca?" It was Klaus. The girls broke apart and Rebecca hugged her brother. She was still crying. "Come now little sister. There is no more reason to cry." Klaus said with a smirk.

"I was almost too late Klaus. I have no idea what I would have done without you." She cried into his chest. He smiled lovingly and rubbed her back. "Well now you won't have to find out huh?" They chuckled together and Klaus called Elena over to join their hug. The siblings wrapped her up in their arms and they all laughed together. It almost felt like that summer, before all the scarring things changed them forever. Elena found herself wondering if maybe she had been wrong before about going back to her old life, if maybe she could go back after all, if only just a little.


	18. Chapter 18

Damon's point of view

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Elena and Rebecca sat on the porch steps until right before sunrise. They did a lot of talking, and a lot of crying. Elena told her she didn't hold it against her that she saved herself. She told her if the roles were reversed she wasn't sure she would have lasted as long as Rebecca had. Right when they were beginning to fear how close the sun rays were the front door opened.

"The protection spell is gone. You can come inside." Elena looked up and met ocean blue eyes. Damon.

"Thank you." Rebecca said. Damon nodded in acknowledgement to her but kept his eyes on Elena. "Not just for this Damon," Rebecca said, demanding his attention. "For saving Elena, for keeping her safe. For being braver than I was." Rebecca finished. Damon met her eyes "You're welcome." He said solemnly. With that, and the first signs of the rising sun, Rebecca darted into the house and closed the door behind her.

Damon took her spot next to Elena on the front step. Elena was looking to the rising sun, admiring the changing color of the sky. Damon was quiet as he sat beside her. The morning sun warmed his face, and he allowed himself to enjoy it for a moment. He never stopped being grateful for the luxury of the sun, there were too many good vampires who didn't have it.

After a while Damon allowed himself to look at Elena, She was still in his clothes, a fact that seemed so trivial now, after what they had been through. Her eyes were drooped low from lack of sleep, and her hands shook a little from where they were clenched together in her lap.

"That was incredibly stupid." Damon finally said into the calm morning.

"Stefan already gave me this speech." Elena said, getting really tired of being told she was stupid.

"Well it was." Damon said. Elena whipped around to face Damon, instead of the sunrise.

"And how was you rushing out to your death any less stupid?" Elena snapped.

"Because I'm not human Elena! I didn't die from the broken neck, but you are that fragile, and I would have watched Klaus die a thousand deaths before I lost you." Elena looked at him, surprised by his outburst and confession. He was searching her brown eyes for any kind of understanding. Did she know how much she meant to him? Could she understand the fear that ran through him when she stepped outside of the protection spell? He needed her to understand.

She looked away from his smoldering eyes and contemplated the sunrise again. By this time the sky was a bright pink. Birds were chirping, singing their hello to the morning, completely unaware of what the night before consisted of. The rest of the world would move on from this night, unscathed and unchanged. Damon couldn't though. He couldn't forget the way he was so irrevocably changed, or ignore it.

Damon took Elena's hand and held it tightly between his two rough, strong hands. She examined the spot where they intertwined, then looked hopefully up at Damon.

"You once told me you didn't know vampires felt anything. Do you still think that?" He asked her, looking deeply into her eyes, willing her to tell the truth.

"No." She whispered.

"Would you believe me then, if I told you I love you?" The words rushed out of his mouth. If his heart had a beat it would be racing. Shock widened her eyes slightly and then a radiant smile split her face in two. There at dawn, the sun shone brightly on Damon, only now, for him, it would always shine from Elena's smile.

"I love you too." She replied quietly before leaning over and kissing him passionately. He scooped her up and placed her in his lap. One of her knees rested on each side of him. She tangled her fingers in his hair, making his world explode in ecstasy. He pulled her as close to him as he could, reveling in her heartbeat, loving the warm feel of her skin against his. She was alive, and she loved him, and now, that was all that mattered.

That evening, after the sun went down, the group went with Rebecca and Klaus to dispose of Elijah. Damon wasn't sure how they felt, Rebecca was crying, and Klaus looked solemn but as they ignited his body, Rebecca uttered "I hope you and Kol rot in hell." Perhaps they didn't really know how they were feeling either. Damon couldn't imagine what that must be like. Sure he was evil but they were his siblings. They had known him when he was just a baby, incapable of horrible acts, when he was a boy, just striving to make his father proud. They watched him grow, they loved him. Damon and Stefan knew a similar reality. They both have had to forgive each other for unspeakable things throughout the years. None of which had ever made Damon love Stefan less. Does becoming evil mean the people who loved you before must stop loving you? Does being evil even make it possible for the people who love you to stop? In the end Damon just pitied them all, even Elijah. Life had twisted their family so much, they couldn't even distinguish between hate and love. So much so that it brought death to almost all of them. It was a harsh reality, one they could all face themselves if they weren't careful

That night, when they got back they all sat around drinking and sharing life stories. By the time most of them were asleep, they knew everything there was to know about each other. Damon and Elena were the last ones awake. They talked well into the night about Elena's life before Elijah and Kol, and about what she planned to do now, after Elijah and Kol. Elena struggled with answering that part. After all she had a choice to make. Damon's life was here, with his brother and with Bonnie. Elena had a life waiting for her too though, in Washington.

In the end Elena just curled into Damon's side and decided to leave it at "We will cross that bridge when we get to it." Damon allowed her to avoid reality for the night, but he knew they would have to face it sooner rather than later. Jeremy needed her, and to be completely honest Damon thought she could really use him too. The seven of them slept peacefully for the first time in a long time, together, on the living room floor. The last thought Damon had before drifting off to sleep was that he could get used to the way a big family felt.


	19. Chapter 19

It wasn't easy saying goodbye to their new friends. The seven of them stood in a terribly lit airport, trying to find the right way to separate. Between Rebecca and Elena there were a lot of tears. Rebecca and Elena embraced, but Damon could see Elena was still closed off from her. He wasn't sure if Elena would ever trust her again. Klaus and Elena exchanged numbers, and promised to stay in touch. Elena was sad to be parting with him. Klaus and Damon shook hands. All misplaced jealousy aside, Damon respected Klaus for his dedication, not only to helping Elena, but to loving Caroline. Damon could see now that whatever had started between them, it was something real.

Caroline revealed that she would be returning to Italy with Klaus and Rebecca, and it took quite a while, and quite a few more tears for Bonnie and Stefan to let her go. In the end Damon thought they were happy for her though. Like Elena, some terrible things had befallen Caroline when she was young, and she deserved a happy ending.

If Damon was being honest, they all deserved a happier future than what they had had. The majority of them were just kids when life had taken things from them. Damon realized it was time for some of them to take those things back. Once Caroline, Rebecca, and Klaus were gone Damon found Bonnie and pulled her aside.

"Hey." She said, smiling at him brightly. She was putting on a good show, but Damon knew her too well. She was still tired, even two days later. She wouldn't go into detail about what Elijah did to her before they showed up at the boarding house, but she did say she had already spent most of her energy before they got there. Damon knew she had really overdone it this time.

"Hey." He said smiling at her. "Look I just wanted to thank you again. You almost died Bon, I dont know what I would have done." Bonnie put up a hand to shush him.

"Stop Damon okay?" She took his hand lovingly. "I know you love me okay? And I know you were scared. But all I could think about was 'What if Damon finally found someone to love, who was worth loving, and she dies? What will become of my best friend?'" Her eyes teared up. She wiped at them defiantly, then tacked a less real smile on her face. "You deserve love Damon, and I would do anything to make sure you have it." Damon pulled her in for a hug and she let herself cry on him a little. When she pulled away, she wiped her face dry and her tears stopped.

"I'm glad you brought up what people deserve, because that's exactly what I wanted to talk to you about." Bonnie cocked her head questioningly at him.

"I think you should focus on college Bonnie." Bonnie opened her mouth to interrupt him but he put a finger to her lips, stopping her before she could start.

"I know, you need to learn, and practice magic, I know. But Bon you're 21. You need to take some time for yourself. Get drunk, go to parties, find something you really enjoy doing, and do that. You don't actually have to be a witch. You can just be Bonnie." Damon touched her cheek with the finger that was on her lips. "You deserve it." He mocked her. Suddenly her eyes were swimming in tears again. "Ugh! Damon." She complained as she batted at the traitorous water. She turned and stomped away from him, done with the emotional speeches.

Damon was still laughing after her retreating forms when Elena came up behind him. She ran her hands across his back and under his arms until she was hugging him from behind. He sighed and put his hands over hers. "You ready?" She asked him. He squeezed her hands, then turned to face her. Damon cupped her face and kissed her forehead. "Almost." He replied. Stefan and Bonnie were watching them expectantly now.

Elena and Damon had decided not to decide yet. Damon was to go with her back to Washington, to try and track down Jeremy. After that they were just going to take it day by day. Elena had taking a real liking to Virginia, and has expressed her want to live there to Damon. Damon had told her that if she were serious they could make it work, for her and Jeremy both. However she also told Damon she wouldn't come without Jeremy. So their future rested solely in the hands of an 18 year old kid, who knew nothing about their world. Needless to say Damon was slightly nervous.

Damon wasn't sure what he was going to do if the decision wasn't in his favor. He mostly tried not to think about it,but he couldn't help but fear what life would be like, not by Elena's side. Realistically he could stay there with her in Washington, but looking at his brother and best friend now he knew he would be weren't that kind of people you lived without either.

Damon walked up and gave Stefan a hug. Stefan patted him on the back. "Safe travels brother." Stefan said. Damon could see the doubt floating around behind his eyes. Stefan feared his brother wouldn't be returning, but he wouldn't stop him. Stefan would never stand in the way of his brother's happiness. If anyone deserved to choose something for himself, it was Damon.

Elena hugged Bonnie. "You be good to him." She said in a mock threat.

"Oh I will." Elena said, flashing Damon a loving smile. Bonnie gave Elena one of her happiness pouring smiles. They had quickly become good friends, once the jealousy over Damon had been resolved. Elena promised, if nothing else, to visit whenever she could. Bonnie gave Elena her number, and told her to call whenever she needed. Elena smiled and thanked Bonnie again for all she had done.

Then Damon scooped Bonnie up and spun her around. She hugged him back eagerly. When he set her down she pulled away. She wouldn't make eye contact with him.

"Bon are you crying?" Damon asked. He put a finger under her chin and made her look at him. Sure enough her emerald eyes were pools of water. He gave a Bonnie one of his most sincere smiles and wiped at her tears. He shook his head, indicating that she shouldn't cry. She laughed at herself.

"I know. I just," She stopped to take a deep breath, "Just be happy Damon." She said finally in a thick voice. Damon just laughed and hugged her again. Stefan and Bonnie had no idea how much they meant to him.

Steffan pulled Elena into a giant hug. She nuzzled into his shoulder and he held her tight. "Don't let him fool you Elena, he can act tough, but he's just a lot of talk. You're gonna have to take care of him." Elena smiled at Stefan. They had had a rocky start. She had had a hard time trusting him when all of this started, but now Elena knew he was family. The goodness in him was irrefutable. With a quick kiss on the cheek Stefan released Elena to walk into the waiting arms of Damon.

Elena pressed her body against Damon's for one last dose of strength, so she could find it in her to leave these wonderful people. He held her to him and waved at his family. Bonnie and Stefan waved one last goodbye, and then turned and walked away. Damon and Elena stood and watched for one more second before they too turned, and made their way to their gate.

"Now are you ready?" Elena asked as they strolled through the airport.

"I don't know, you think your brother might try to kill me?" Damon asked sarcastically. Elena laughed, a carefree, happy laugh. "Don't worry Damon, I'll protect you." and together they stepped into the unknown future, not only free form Elijah, but also just free.


	20. Epilogue

So someone requested that I write an epilogue for this story and since I recently finished up my other story I decided to give it a try. Forgive me if it isn't up to par with the rest of this story. I've been super busy getting signed up for classes but I wanted to give this story and end for you all. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

It has been two years since Damon and Elena left for Washington. Damon rented Elena and himself a house when they found her childhood home being lived in by an older man she had never seen before. They found Jeremy attending a local college. He had sold their childhood home for tuition money and had been attending school for the last two years. Jeremy had been ecstatic to see Elena, especially since everyone had assumed she died in the fire that burned down the house she was staying in. Damon had to do a lot of work to get her death annulled. Once all was settled, they told Jeremy the full story. At first he didn't believe Damon and Elena. So Elena insisted that Damon demonstrate. That ended up being a terrible idea since Jeremy freaked and tried to kill Damon.

Eventually Elena calmed him down and then over time Jeremy grew to trust Damon, maybe even like him a bit. It wasn't until after the 1 year mark that Elena brought up moving to Virginia. Jeremy was immediately against it. He wanted to stay in Washington with his friends, and finish school. Of course that meant Elena didn't want to leave. She had just gotten her brother back, she didn't want to leave him again.

Elena begged Damon to give her time to convince him, that maybe after Jeremy finished his senior year in college he would be more open to it. So Damon waited. After the two year mark Elena could see Damon was beginning to suffer. He spent a lot of time on the phone with Bonnie and Stefan in the beginning, but more and more he was ignoring their calls. When Elena had asked him about it, he had merely shrugged and said that he didn't know what to say to them anymore. She knew he wanted to go home. Suddenly Elena's heart was pulling in two ways and it was starting to cause problems between Damon and her.

He wouldn't try to but he would snap at her when his yearning for home would get too bad, or when he just couldn't understand why she wouldn't just leave. They started to fight more often than get along, so much so that ever Jeremy was starting to notice. One day Jeremy had asked Elena why they were fighting so much. "It's not his fault. He has given up a lot to be here with me. He just misses home." She had told her brother. The answer didn't seem to satisfy Jeremy. He had shifted awkwardly and furrowed his brow, but instead of saying anything he had just left for class.

Of course it wasn't all bad. After all Damon loved Elena, and though he missed his home, he was happy to be by Elena's side. They spent a lot of time learning about one another, and watching movies, or taking walks. He would cook for her and she would rub his shoulders. At night they would take a bubble bath together with glasses of wine. In fact it was in one of these baths that they had the conversation that changed the course of their lives.

"You're quiet tonight." Elena observed as she sipped her wine. Her bare back was resting against his chest. Warm bubbly water surrounded them. His arms were around her loosely but his head rested back against the tub. "Hm." Was his response. He absentmindedly ran his hand down her arm in a comforting gesture. Elena sighed.

"Damon, what's wrong?" She was growing annoyed with his obvious attitude that he'd had all day.

"Nothing Elena, just drop it." It wasn't that he'd been rude or mean all day. They'd had a fine day. He had cooked her dinner, and kissed her sweetly, then he had suggested the bath. Things hadn't been bad but he had been quieter than usual, he hadn't made his own sauce for the spaghetti, he bought it. Damon never bought canned sauce. He wouldn't kiss her for longer than a couple seconds, or meet her eyes for very long. Something had just been off about him all day.

"No. I'm not going to drop it." she said as she turned around and straddled him to face him. He looked up at her tiredly, though not without a glint of admiration.

"Please Elena I don't want to fight tonight." He pleaded. He tried to pull her against him but she pulled away and got out of the tub. She sat her wine glass on the counter and wrapped a towel around herself. Damon watched with shocked eyes as she left the room, a stern look on her face.

Damon followed her into their bedroom, a towel also wrapped around him, hanging low on his hips. "Elena."

"What Damon?" She was pulling on one of his T-shirts with her back facing him.

"Why did you walk out?" He asked.

"Because Damon you act like I can't tell when something is going on with you. Do you remember all the things we went through together? Do you know how much I love you? I know when something's really wrong, and you just shut me out, every time."

"Of course I remember. I'm not trying to shut you out. I just, I don't know how to talk about how I feel without fighting with you. And right now, I really just need to be with you." His words were so tinged in sadness it made Elena turn around. All the anger fallen away from her face and in its place just concern. "Damon." She crossed the room to him and touched his face lightly.

"Please talk to me. I promise not to fight with you." He searched her eyes, trying to decide if she meant it. Ultimately he knew he had to trust her.

"I talked to Bonnie today." He said. Elena grabbed his hand and led him to their bed where they both perched on the edge of it.

"How is she?" Elena asked. She was trying to hold back her surprise, he hadn't taken her phone calls in a couple months.

"She's in love." He said flatly. Elena furrowed her brow.

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"It's a wonderful thing. She sounds so happy. And I'm missing it." He avoided looking at Elena, afraid of how this last sentence hit her.

"Damon, you can visit them any time."

"No I can't." he said gruffly. "If I go back, I won't want to return here don't you get it? Ive spent my entire life at my brothers side. Sure we have been separated before, we go weeks without seeing each other but our lives have always come right back home, and with each other. And Bonnie? She's like my little sister, i've never loved a human so much in my life until you. I'm missing big things, I'm not there, what if he breaks her heart? Bonnie has no one, who will be there if she gets hurt?" Elena pursed her lips as he explained his pain to her. She didn't think this was so real to him, unless he was angry he always seemed fairly content to just be with her. Elena could see now that there were some major parts of him missing, and it was because of her.

Elena kissed his head. What could she say to him now that would help him? She was doing this to him, and at this very moment she couldn't stop it. "I'm sorry Damon." She said, and then clad in only underwear and his T-shirt she walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. Damon sighed and dropped his head in his hands. He knew he was being ridiculous about all of this. People move away from their family all the time, but he couldn't help it. He had had no intention of moving away from them, he wasn't ready to. He couldn't leave Elena though, he wouldn't. Damon needs Elena, no matter how much being away from his family hurt. Bonnie had sounded perfectly happy, and had even assured him several times that it was fine that he was staying with Elena. "Damon, I told you you deserved happiness. Your place is by Elena's side. Stefan and I are both happy if you are, no matter how far away you go." She had told him on the phone. But he wasn't happy, not without them.

With another sigh Damon picked himself up and threw on a pair of clean boxers. He didn't know where Elena went but he really didn't feel like tracking her down and discussing anything any further. Instead he crawled into bed and fell asleep.

"Jeremy, can we talk?" Elena sat on the back porch of her home and had her cell phone pressed against her ear. Her hand was shaking, and tears were flowing down her cheeks.

"Sure Lena whats up?" He asked his voice breaking a little through the cell connection.

"It's about Damon and me, and Virginia." She said. She bit her lip as the other end of the phone fell silent.

"Elena, I'm not moving to Virginia." Jeremy said.

"I know Jer, It's just Damon, he misses his family. He hadn't really planned on staying here."

"So why don't you two go back?" Elena took a deep breath.

"Elena you can't attach yourself to me for the rest of your life. You are alive, and safe, and happy. That is all I ever wanted. I can come visit you, and you can come visit me whenever. I lived three years thinking you were dead. If you are living here or halfway across the world I am happy just knowing you are living. Besides I wouldn't trust anyone more than Damon to keep you safe. Neither of you are happy here, don't stay because I am." Jeremy stopped and waited for his sister to respond. She wiped some tears off her face.

"I just didn't want you to feel abandoned. I'm sorry I was gone for so long, I'm sorry you were all alone." She cried.

"Aw Elena. None of that was your fault, and you are here now. You don't have to actually be here for me to know that. I love you sis. So you need to do what's best for you, for once in your life." Elena took a calming breath and let what her brother was saying sink in. He was right of course, and Elena knew it. Damon had risked a lot for her, and he put her life back together. Now it was her turn.

"I love you Jeremy." Elena said earnestly.

"I love you too Elena. I got to get some sleep. I'll come by tomorrow okay?"

"OKay. Goodnight Jer." She said.

"Goodnight." Jeremy ended the call.

Elena sat there on the porch for a while afterward. She looked up to the stars and tried to count them. As she did so her breathing returned to normal and the tears dried on her cheeks. When she had made it passed 10,000 she gave up, knowing that none of them were actually alive anymore anyway. She made her way back into the house and up the stairs slowly. The house was quiet, she assumed Damon had gone to bed. She crept into their room and was rewarded with the peaceful face of her sleeping boyfriend. All of the worry and pain from earlier was gone. His lips were barely parted and his hair was a mess atop his head. Elena smiled at the man she loved more than anything. How could she have been so selfish?

Elena crawled into bed carefully so she wouldn't wake up. He was on his back with one arm resting on either side of him. She lightly took one of his wrists and wrapped his slack arm around her as she snuggled up to his chest. He let out a sigh and instinctively tightened his hold on her. She could feel her body relaxing with every steady breath he took. "I love you" She whispered. He turned his head and kissed the top of hers. "I love you too" he murmured half asleep. She looked up quickly in surprise. "I'm sorry." She whispered "I didn't mean to wake you." He smiled lazily.

"Didn't really." He mumbled with his eyes still closed. She smiled at his sleepy face and settled back onto his chest. Elena knew what she had to do. Damon deserved it, after all this time. And as she started to fall asleep she began to picture the boarding house, and Stefan, Bonnie and the beautiful woods of Virginia. Before sleep overtook her she knew it was what she wanted too.

Elena didn't tell Damon right away, per Jeremy's request. His graduation was in a few weeks and he wanted them there for it. He also told Elena that he had a surprise for Damon. So Elena decided that it could wait the few more weeks. She didn't really want to miss Jeremy's graduation anyway.

On the day of the graduation Damon took the trio out for an expensive dinner. They laughed and talked and had a good time. Damon had been pretty normal the last few weeks. He hadn't been quiet, distant, or angry since that night. As the dinner was coming to a close Jeremy cleared his throat.

"Damon, I know this is a little backwards, but I have something for you." Jeremy said, looking admirably at Damon. Damon smiled.

"For me?" He asked incredulously.

"Well for you and my sister, but mostly you."

"Jeremy, its your graduation, you didn't-" Jeremy cut him off by raising his hand. When Damon reluctantly shut his mouth Jeremy handed Damon an envelope. Damon gave him a skeptical look. Jeremy made a gesture to indicate that he should open it. Damon pulled out a folded piece of lined paper. "That part is for you only." Jeremy qualified quickly when Elena tried to lean over and see. Damon mocked pulling away offended from Elena. She laughed and slapped his arm playfully but sat back into her own chair. Damon unfolded the paper.

 _Damon,_

 _My sister and I have talked about this many times, and i know you two were hoping I'd go back to virginia with you when I graduate. Sadly this will not be the case though. My heart is here in Washington._

 _That being said though I understand that yours lies in Virginia. Elena is scared to leave because she feels like she abandoned me. She didn't do anything wrong though and as the time goes by I can see her heart also isn't here in Washington. I don't know if its in Virginia either but I do know one thing. Its with you. She wants to go as much as you do but her fear and love for me keeps her here._

 _That is why I have taken the liberty of buying your way out. I already convinced her that this was the right choice, but I was worried she wouldn't actually make the move so I did. I appreciate everything you have done for my sister Damon. You saved her life and as if that weren't enough you've given her something to live for as well. She gets so lost in trying to take care of other people, you are going to have to keep her from doing that. Remind her that its okay to choose herself every once in awhile._

 _Accept this gift, and have an extraordinary life. She's an extraordinary girl and you are extraordinary for her. All you have to do is promise to stay in touch, and both of you come see me every now and again. I love you both._

Damon looked at Jeremy with emotions swimming in his eyes. Elena watched her brother questioningly, wondering what the letter could possibly say. Then Damon reached back into the envelope and pulled out two plane tickets. Elena's eyes went from the tickets to Jeremy, wide with shock. "Jer." She said. He merely smiled. Damon stared at the tickets movingly. Elena leaned over and confirmed her suspicion. Two one way tickets from Washington to Virginia. "Jeremy, I-I I dont even know what to say." Damon uttered.

"Just take good care of my sister." Jeremy said with a smug smirk. Damon's eyes had tears in them and he stood and embraced the other man.

Damon stood nervously outside of the familiar door. His hands were shaking and his cheeks were starting to hurt he was smiling so much. A few seconds went by before he heard footsteps on the other side of the door. This of course only made him smile wider. Damon knocked again to hurry the person along.

"Alright alright I'm coming." The door swung open impatiently and the person standing behind it stopped in their tracks. Green eyes bore into Damon's blue ones. "Damon?" Bonnie asked, not believing what her eyes were seeing. "The one and only." He tried to sound smug but it came out more breathless. Bonnie's face broke into a smile and thens he threw herself into his arms. Her legs were off the ground and around him and his arms were around her back. The hugged each other hard. They were laughing and crying all at once. When they were both a little calmer he set the young witch down and looked into her green eyes again. "I've missed you so much Bonnie." he said. They were smiling at each other like idiots. Then Bonnie seemed to remember something and her smile fell away. She furrowed her brow. "Where's Elena? Did you? Is she?" Bonnie wasn't sure how to ask what she was asking. Damon stayed smiling though as he turned to look behind him. At that moment Elena came walking up her front steps, Stefan in tow.

Bonnie's smile returned. "Elena." She squealed and pulled the girl in for a hug. Stefan and Damon smiled at each other as they watched. Damon had called Stefan the night they left. They needed someone to pick them up from the airport. "What are you guys doing here?" Bonnie asked when she pulled away from Elena.

"Eh" Elena said smiling "I got tired of all the rain, besides Damon needed to be home, so." Elena's sentence broke off when she met his eyes. Damon was watching her with so much love, happiness bringing him to life.

"Wait so you're staying?" She asked. They nodded together and Bonnie squealed again pulling Elena back into a hug. The girls laughed and the boys watched happily, happy to just be near each other again. "Missed you brother." Stefan said quietly.

"Missed you too Brother." Damon replied simply. But Damon knew that that was all over. Elena met his eyes over Bonnie's shoulder. Damon mouthed a silent thank you, to which Elena mouthed back her own silent You're welcome.


End file.
